Boehringer Ingelheim and MacroGenics have entered into a partnership to develop and commercialise antibody-based therapeutics covering multiple therapeutic areas such as immunology, respiratory, oncology and infectious diseases.

MacroGenics’ Dual-Affinity Re-Targeting (DART) platform will be used for the development of drug candidates, which will be directed against up to ten combinations of molecular targets.

The DART platform allows for the generation of highly stable antibody-based therapeutic molecules capable of targeting two antigens simultaneously.

The two companies will share responsibility for discovery and certain pre-clinical activities, and Boehringer Ingelheim will be responsible for all subsequent clinical, regulatory, commercial and manufacturing activities for any DART-based product resulting from the collaboration.

During the first three years of collaboration, MacroGenics may receive payments totalling up to $60m, which includes an upfront cash payment, annual maintenance fees, R&D funding and near-term research-based milestones.

Boehringer expects to make a future equity investment in MacroGenics.

Depending upon the development, regulatory and commercial milestones, MacroGenics may receive up to $210m for each of the ten DART programmes.

MacroGenics may also receive tiered royalties on net product sales, and can choose to co-promote certain DART products in the US.