Xencor, Inc. and Boehringer Ingelheim have entered a collaboration agreement for certain Xencor biosuperior monoclonal antibodies. BI will provide all manufacturing and product supply from preclinical through Phase I development. Xencor is responsible for preclinical and clinical studies and retains all development and commercial rights to products. For clinical programs beyond Phase I, BI has certain manufacturing rights to supply clinical and commercial material to Xencor.

“Xencor has developed a deep portfolio of biosuperior antibodies with the potential for superior clinical and commercial performance, and this collaboration agreement with BI allows us to establish an important relationship with the leading global contract manufacturer of biologics,” said Bassil Dahiyat, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Xencor. “Xencor and BI will share the financial risk in early preclinical and clinical development with the incentive of sharing in future success of the programs.”

“We are delighted to start this collaboration with Xencor. It reflects one of our new business models in the contract manufacturing in which both parties are enabled to focus on their core competencies,” said corporate senior vice president Simon Sturge at BI Biopharmaceuticals.

Xencor’s lead biosuperior compound is an anti-TNF antibody engineered using the company’s Xtend antibody technology for increasing antibody half-life. Xencor expects to initiate a Phase I trial in 2013.