Boehringer Ingelheim and Envisagenics have entered a research collaboration and option agreement that aims to validate tumour-specific targets for the development of precision therapies in solid tumours.
Under the agreement, Envisagenics is set to receive more than $1bn through potential payments. These include an upfront sum, research funding, option fees, and milestones related to commercialisation, development, regulatory approval, and royalties on future sales.
The multi-year partnership will focus on targets identified through Envisagenics’ SpliceCore AI platform.
This technology analyses alternative ribonucleic acid (RNA) splicing events with the goal of improving therapy options for people with difficult-to-treat cancers.
The new partnership intends to validate selected tumour-specific targets which may be used to develop therapies that could be more selective in recognising and attacking cancer cells, while aiming to reduce impact on normal cells.
Boehringer Ingelheim oncology research global head Mark Petronczki said: “Growing innovation together with partners is central to how we build our oncology pipeline.
“Alternative RNA splicing offers access to a largely unexplored target space, and Envisagenics has built a distinctive capability to investigate it.
“Through this collaboration, we hope to identify highly tumour-selective targets for the development of new cancer therapies to address the needs of patients who are still waiting for better treatment options.”
The agreement allows Boehringer to license selected targets exclusively to further develop and commercialise upon successful completion of the research phase.
Areas under review include antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), multi-specific antibodies, and T-cell engagers (TcEs).
Envisagenics’ SpliceCore platform is reported to screen over 14 million alternative splicing events to predict target suitability.
The company’s pipeline also covers neurodegeneration and other oncology programmes.
In June 2026, Boehringer signed a research collaboration agreement with Combotope Therapeutics to advance tumour-selective antibody therapies targeting cancer.
