BRIEF—Boehringer links up with pharma giant on IBDs

Privately-held German company Boehringer Ingelheim is to team up with Swiss pharma giant Roche in the discovery and development of orally available novel Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) oligonucleotides for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs).

Under the agreement, the companies will collaborate on drug discovery and development, share clinical development costs and responsibility for the commercialization of potential products. Further terms were not disclosed.

Jay Fine, global head of immunology and respiratory diseases research at Boehringer, said: “The opportunity to work closely with the experts at Roche to discover and develop oral, gut-targeted LNAs for the treatment of unmet medical needs in patients suffering from IBDs is extremely motivating.

“By combining our deep knowledge of gut inflammatory diseases and immunology with Roche’s expertise in the design, development and use of LNA technology, we believe we can accelerate the delivery of novel treatments for IBD patients.”