Phenomic AI entered into a strategic collaboration and licensing agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim to discover targets important in stroma-rich cancers leveraging Phenomic’s scTx single-cell transcriptomics platform to enhance Boehringer’s efforts to develop first-in-class medicines to treat cancer.
 
Stroma-rich cancers, such as colorectal and pancreatic cancers, are amongst the hardest to treat in part because of the tumor stroma: a complex tissue that protects cancerous cells from therapies and supports cancer growth and metastasis. Phenomic’s platform aims to address this challenge by identifying targets to potentially overcome the barrier the tumor stroma creates.
 
Phenomic’s scTx platform integrates single-cell RNA datasets from human tissues with comprehensive analysis and validation tools. Advanced AI and machine learning algorithms enable the analysis of this diversified database including imaging, RNA sequencing, and spatial transcriptomics data to understand the biology of single cells sitting in complex multi-cell systems. Unique stromal models enable Phenomic to then assess the results and identify novel targets.
 
Boehringer has the option to license targets discovered and validated by Phenomic. Boehringer will be responsible for all non-clinical and clinical development, as well as commercialization of associated cancer therapies. Phenomic will receive upfront and near-term payments of approximately $9 million including research funding and collaboration milestones. Phenomic is also eligible to receive more than $500 million in licensing fees as well as clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestones in addition to royalties on future product sales.
 
“Through our new partnership with Phenomic, we aim to accelerate and expand our pipeline of first-in-class therapies for patients affected by stroma-rich cancers, which account for the vast majority of cancer deaths every year,” said Theresa Goletz, VP Cancer Immunology and Immune Modulation, Boehringer Ingelheim. “This collaboration demonstrates our commitment to innovation by incorporating advanced AI and machine learning tools into drug discovery to address high unmet patient needs.”
 
“Phenomic is committed to breaking through the barriers in drug discovery for cancer and developing novel therapies targeting tumor stroma. We are excited to be working with Boehringer Ingelheim, a global leader with expertise in delivering breakthrough medicines for cancer patients,” stated Girish Aakalu, Ph.D., CEO of Phenomic. “Through this collaboration, we believe that we can improve outcomes for patients with difficult-to-treat solid tumors by applying our next-generation drug discovery and development tools.”