Boehringer Ingelheim, Connexios Collaborate On Diabetes Drug Research

Boehringer Ingelheim announced that it has entered into an exclusive global research collaboration agreement with Bangalore-based biotechnology company Connexios Life Sciences to develop AMPK agonists for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes patients.

Under the terms of the new agreement Boehringer Ingelheim acquires development and commercialization global rights to CNX-012, Connexios’ program on AMPK activators. The program includes CNX-012-570 and other diabetes compounds in early preclinical development. CNX-012-570 is Connexios’ lead candidate from its program on AMPK activators that work to directly activate specific isoforms of the protein. The compound is designed to impact the cellular energetic and redox balance across critical cell types and tissue.

Suri Venkatachalam, CEO and founder of Connexios, said, “CNX-012 is one of our flagship programs which leverages our Network Biology approach and platform, and we are extremely pleased to be working with Boehringer Ingelheim to advance candidates from this program. We strongly believe that the collaboration will yield best-in-class activators of this exciting but challenging target and ultimately result in better therapies for patients of Type 2 Diabetes who also suffer from the burden of several other cardiometabolic co-morbidities.” CEO Venkatachalam also said that the deal with BI validates its mission and provides funding for its other drug candidates to advance into clinical trials.

Michel Pairet, SVP and global head of R&D at Boehringer Ingelheim, said that the collaboration with Connexios will further bolster the company’s own drug discovery and development efforts in cardiometabolic diseases area.

No financial details of the transaction were disclosed by either company, however the Economic Times estimates there will be an upfront payment of $5-10 million with additional milestone payments for Connexios — an industry benchmark for this type of deal. The sale of the company’s set of anti-diabetes molecules is the first out-licensing deal by an Indian life-sciences company. BI’s payments to Connexios will be Connexios’ first significant revenues after 10 years of operations, notes the Economic Times.