On March 7, 2016, AbbVie and Boehringer Ingelheim announced that they have entered into a global collaboration to develop BI 655066, an anti-IL-23 monoclonal biologic antibody that is in Phase 3 development for psoriasis and also being evaluated as a treatment for Crohn’s disease, psoriatic arthritis and asthma. As part of the license agreement, AbbVie is receiving certain rights to another biologic agent, BI 655064, an anti-CD-40 antibody currently in Phase 1 development. The companies report that, as financial consideration, AbbVie will make an initial upfront payment of $595 million, and Boehringer Ingelheim will be eligible to receive additional payments if other benchmarks are met.
Stay tuned to the Big Molecule Watch for further developments.