Boehringer Ingelheim has announced plans to launch 25 new treatments by 2030, with a focus on oncology and cardiometabolic diseases. The company intends to initiate 10 new Phase II and Phase III trials in the next 12 to 18 months, signaling an acceleration of its late-stage portfolio.
Oncology and Targeted Therapies
Among the highlighted candidates is Brigimadlin, an MDM2-p53 agonist currently in a pivotal trial for dedifferentiated liposarcoma. This therapeutic approach aims to restore p53 function, a critical tumor suppressor, by inhibiting MDM2, a protein that degrades p53. The company is also advancing zongertinib, an investigational HER2 tyrosine kinase inhibitor, after observing positive early data. Zongertinib targets HER2, a receptor tyrosine kinase that is overexpressed in various cancers, driving cell proliferation and tumor growth.
Metabolic Disease and Liver Health
Boehringer Ingelheim's glucagon/GLP-1 candidate, survodutide, has shown encouraging results in treating liver disease associated with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). In February 2024, Phase II trial data revealed that 83% of patients experienced biopsy-proven improvement without worsening of fibrosis stages. Survodutide has also advanced into Phase III trials for obesity, reflecting its potential in addressing multiple facets of metabolic syndrome. MASH, formerly known as NASH, affects a significant portion of the global population and represents a substantial unmet medical need, as it can progress to cirrhosis and liver failure.
Financial Performance and Market Dynamics
Despite challenges with the U.S. market uptake of its Humira biosimilar, Cyltezo, Boehringer Ingelheim reported a 9.7% increase in net sales for 2023. This growth was primarily driven by strong sales of Jardiance (empagliflozin), a diabetes and heart failure treatment, and Ofev (nintedanib), a pulmonary fibrosis treatment. Jardiance sales grew by 31% to €7.4 billion, while Ofev sales increased by 12.8% to €3.5 billion.
Hubertus von Baumbach, chairman of the board of managing directors at Boehringer Ingelheim, stated, "We are determined to accelerate the development of our range of new treatments and make them available to patients in the best and fastest ways...to not only help patients but also to help make healthcare systems fairer and better."
