Boehringer Ingelheim and CDR-Life announced a new global licensing agreement worth up to approximately $570 million to develop CDR111, a first-in-class trispecific antibody-based T-cell engager designed to selectively target and deplete B cells for autoimmune diseases. The deal represents a significant expansion of the companies' existing partnership and positions CDR111 as a potential breakthrough therapy for immune system reset.
Novel Approach to B-Cell Depletion
CDR111 is a trispecific M-gager, an antibody-based T-cell engager that targets dysregulated B cells playing central roles in driving autoimmune and inflammatory conditions such as lupus, multiple sclerosis, and certain forms of arthritis. The therapeutic approach aims to achieve deep B-cell depletion with the goal of delivering a comprehensive immune system reset.
"We see strong potential for CDR111 to demonstrate a deep and durable immune reset that may deliver transformative options for patients living with serious autoimmune disease," said Carine Boustany, US Innovation Unit Site Head and Global Head of Immunology and Respiratory Diseases at Boehringer Ingelheim.
Building on Proven Partnership Success
The agreement builds on the companies' successful collaboration on an investigational antibody fragment developed using technology licensed from CDR-Life. Boehringer has advanced this molecule with the goal of preserving vision in people living with geographic atrophy (GA), currently being investigated in the VERDANT Phase 2 trial (NCT06722157).
Christian Leisner, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of CDR-Life, emphasized the validation this represents: "Our expanded collaboration with Boehringer underscores the growing recognition of our platform's ability to design high quality biologics that may translate into meaningful therapeutic advances. Having already demonstrated encouraging clinical progress together in GA, this new agreement further validates the versatility of our T-cell engager technology."
Financial Terms and Development Pathway
Under the licensing agreement terms, CDR-Life is eligible to receive up to CHF 456 million (approximately $570 million) in total payments, including CHF 38 million (approximately $48 million) in upfront and near-term payments. The deal also includes tiered royalties on future product sales.
M-gager Platform Technology
CDR-Life's proprietary M-gager platform delivers T-cell engagers against challenging therapeutic targets through what the company describes as "unparalleled binding-specificity." This antibody fragment-based technology enables the creation of highly targeted T-cell engagers for both autoimmune diseases and solid tumors, with exceptional specificity and safety profiles.
The platform's versatility has been demonstrated through CDR-Life's advancing pipeline, with their first oncology program now in clinical trials alongside the retinal health collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim that has progressed to Phase 2 development.
Strategic Pipeline Expansion
For Boehringer Ingelheim, the CDR111 licensing agreement represents a strategic expansion of its differentiated pipeline in immunology and respiratory diseases. The company continues its focus on developing innovative therapies in areas of high unmet medical need, particularly those that can improve and extend lives through disease modification rather than symptom management.
The deal further broadens Boehringer Ingelheim's approach to autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, leveraging CDR-Life's unique antibody fragment-based platform to address complex immune system dysregulation with potential broad applications across multiple indications.
