Boehringer Ingelheim, a global leader in animal health, and MabGenesis, a private biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, announce that they have entered into a collaboration to discover and develop novel monoclonal antibodies for potential canine therapeutic treatments. Under the agreement, MabGenesis will apply its unique platform to the discovery of first-in-class candidate antibodies against targets of interest selected by Boehringer Ingelheim. Boehringer Ingelheim will have the right to develop and commercialize products resulting from the collaboration. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“We are excited to partner with global animal health leader Boehringer Ingelheim as we feel we bring complementary expertise to this collaboration,” said Katsuhiro Shinjo, DVM, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of MabGenesis. “The combination of our innovative discovery platform, MOURA Library and IMPACT, and Boehringer Ingelheim’s capability and industry leadership will surely lead to the discovery of innovative canine therapeutic antibodies bringing benefits to animal health.”

By partnering, Boehringer Ingelheim is leveraging the wealth of complementary expertise and skills across the global community of scientists in both human and animal health to bring critical diversity to innovation. "Collaborating with innovative and entrepreneurial partners contributes to solving the biggest challenges in animal health. The new areas of science, such as stem cell therapeutics and species-specific monoclonal antibody technology, hold the key to revealing new ways to tackle disease, where limited or no treatment options exist, and provide the opportunity to unlock the next wave of transformational solutions," explained Frerich de Vries, Head of Business Development & Licensing at Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health.

Stephen Martin, Head of Research, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, added: “We believe that collaboration and shared innovation can lead to groundbreaking solutions to better predict, prevent, detect and treat diseases. This strategic partnership is another example of our commitment to address unmet needs in the animal health market with the aim to improve the lives of animals and humans.”