Using the acquired platform, Boehringer Ingelheim will work with nanoPET Pharma GmbH, a former shareholder of ICD Therapeutics, to develop drug candidates for intracellular targets across tumors.
Boehringer told us that while it has a robust pipeline of oncology and immune oncology compounds in various stages of development, many of its compounds have intracellular targets thus requiring specialized delivery technology, as they are macromolecules.
Per the acquisition, Boehringer will use ICD’s MacroDel technology which enables the exploitation of transporter proteins in the cell membrane to deliver drug candidates inside tumor cells. With this type of drug delivery, Boehringer will have the capability of developing therapeutic targets that would previously been inaccessible, which could be particularly beneficial to patients who have no or only limited treatment options.
Norbert Kraut, global head of cancer research at Boehringer, said in a statement that with the acquired platform from ICD the collaboration with nanoPET Pharma GmbH “has the potential to eliminate the hurdle that many cancer biologics face: getting access to targets inside tumor cells.”
Previous to the collaboration, ICD Therapeutics was a portfolio company of the Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund.
No financial details of the acquisition have been disclosed.
