Germany’s Boehringer, U.S. Epizyme ink $300 mln collaboration deal

German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, a unit of C.H. Boehringer Sohn AG, has inked a $300 million collaboration deal with U.S. clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Epizyme to identify, develop and market cancer therapies. 

Under the terms of the deal, Boehringer Ingelheim will pay Epizyme an upfront payment of $15 million and an additional $5 million in research funding in 2019. Epizyme will be eligible for more than $280 million in biobucks, research, development, regulatory and commercial milestones of more than $280 million.

The focus will be on two previously unexplored epigenetic targets, both enzymes in the helicase and histone acetyltransferase (HAT) families. The goal of the collaboration is on lung and other solid tumors that have defined mutations and subpopulations for which there is currently no precision medicine approaches.

The two companies, which will share research responsibilities for the HAT program, will jointly research and develop a helicase program, sharing U.S. commercialization efforts. Boehringer Ingelheim will take commercialization outside the U.S and cover worldwide development and marketing.