Domain Therapeutics signs a multi-target research collaboration and license agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim

Domain will be eligible for an upfront payment, discovery, development and commercial milestone payments as well as royalties on sales. Financial details are not disclosed.

“We are excited to initiate the collaboration with Domain Therapeutics, a leading player in the GPCR space. This collaboration helps us to bolster our CNS research efforts,” says Dr Bernd Sommer, Global Head, CNS Diseases Research. “We have a valuable partner with complementary expertise and key technologies that allow us to accelerate research and development in this area of great unmet medical need.”

“With its focus on emerging science and breakthrough medicines, we are enthusiastic to be working with Boehringer Ingelheim,” says Pascal Neuville, CEO of Domain Therapeutics. “We believe that our approach and technologies will allow for the identification of new drug candidates against these challenging targets, and, coupled with Boehringer Ingelheim’s strength and expertise, their rapid advancement into the clinic.”

About G Protein-Coupled Receptors

GPCRs belong to the family of membrane receptors and constitute one of the main classes of therapeutic targets for many indications. The binding of a hormone or a specific ligand to a receptor’s binding site activates one or several pathways for intracellular signaling. This enables the cell to provide an adapted response to the change in its environment. The many drugs that target GPCRs represent about 40% of all treatments on the market, but only address 15% of GPCRs. Thus, GPCRs remain largely underexploited to date.

Such receptors are widely expressed in the central nervous system where they play critical roles in regulating brain functions. A significant number of GPCRs are orphan receptors with no known ligand, making the corresponding drug discovery effort particularly challenging. Such complex targets are not addressable with conventional drug discovery approaches and require dedicated technologies.

About Domain Therapeutics

Domain Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and early development of new drug candidates targeting transmembrane receptors, in particular G Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs), one of the most important classes of drug targets. Domain identifies and develops candidates (allosteric modulators and biased ligands) through its innovative approach and technologies. Domain has three revenue generating pillars to its innovative business model: 1) collaboration with pharma companies for the discovery of new molecules, 2) out-licensing of its bioSens-All™ technology and 3) creation of asset-centric vehicles for the development of its internal pipeline of preclinical candidates for central nervous system disorders and cancer. These asset-centric companies attract investment for focused development and exit is through a trade sale at an appropriate inflection point.

www.domaintherapeutics.com