Twist Bioscience, a provider of high-quality synthetic DNA, has entered a broad-based research collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH to use Twist’s proprietary antibody libraries to discover therapeutic antibodies against multiple targets provided by Boehringer Ingelheim.
 
“Boehringer Ingelheim believes Twist’s ability to generate potent, diverse therapeutic antibodies by mining its comprehensive libraries, combined with our extensive capabilities and experience in drug discovery and development, will enable us to deliver breakthrough opportunities to patients,” said Clive Wood, senior corporate vice president and global head of discovery research, Boehringer Ingelheim. “We look forward to working with Twist on molecular targets in a broad range of disease areas.”
 
Twist Biopharma, a division of Twist, will utilize its “Library of Libraries,” a panel of synthetic antibody phage display libraries derived only from sequences that exist in the human body, to identify potential therapeutic antibody candidates. Twist and Boehringer Ingelheim will work together to validate and optimize any resulting new antibody candidates, which could be researched against a range of therapeutic areas. Boehringer Ingelheim retains exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize any therapeutic antibodies discovered as part of the collaboration.
 
Twist will receive an upfront payment for each program entry. In addition, Twist has the potential to earn up to a total of $710 million in success-based clinical, regulatory and commercial milestone payments for the multiple target discovery programs.
 
Emily Leproust, CEO and co-founder of Twist, said, “This discovery collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim covering numerous targets truly illustrates the power of our antibody libraries. We have the ability to generate precise antibodies to a diverse range of targets, which together with Boehringer Ingelheim’s strength in drug development capabilities, could mean multiple new more personalized treatments in the future for patients.”