Boehringer Ingelheim and Gubra Join Forces to Identify and Validate Innovative Peptides for the Treatment of Obesity

Ingelheim, Germany and Hørsholm, Denmark – 1 March 2021 – Boehringer Ingelheim and Gubra today announced a new research and licensing agreement focused on the identification and validation of targets and innovative peptide compounds for the treatment of obesity. This new collaboration builds on the positive experience from previous partnerships with Gubra and combines Gubra’s proprietary streaMLine platform and expertise in obesity and peptide chemistry with Boehringer Ingelheim’s expertise in lead optimization and clinical development. The companies share the goal of providing new obesity therapies with increased tolerability that support greater weight loss than current therapy options.

“This marks the third joint research program between Boehringer Ingelheim and Gubra in the area of obesity since 2017,” said Søren Tullin, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Global Head of Cardiometabolic Diseases Research, Boehringer Ingelheim. “We’re delighted to expand our established working relationship and proven track record with Gubra to uncover next-generation anti-obesity treatments. This latest research agreement further strengthens and complements Boehringer Ingelheim’s cardiometabolic portfolio. We are committed to becoming a leader in the obesity space and to providing new therapy options to help people with high unmet medical needs.”

Obesity is a complex chronic disease that requires long-term management. It is among the leading risk factors for several cardio-metabolic diseases, such as heart disease, ischemic stroke, liver diseases incl. NASH and type 2 diabetes, as well as for a number of cancers.ⁱ The global prevalence of obesity has increased dramatically over the last decade and nearly tripled between 1975 and 2016,ⁱⁱ affecting around 650 million adults worldwide today.ⁱⁱ It is projected that by 2030, close to half of the U.S. population will have obesity.ⁱⁱⁱ Current treatment options have limited efficacy in terms of weight loss or are often associated with adverse events. 

“We are particularly pleased about this third collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim,” said Henrik Blou, CEO of Gubra. “Over the past four years our two companies have built a strong drug discovery relationship. In this third collaboration, Gubra is responsible for the early discovery of peptides – now applying our proprietary target and drug discovery platform streaMLine. After initial maturation, projects are handed over for further development to Boehringer Ingelheim. This approach, we believe, has the potential to take obesity treatment to the next level for the benefit of patients around the world.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Gubra is primarily responsible for early research activities. Boehringer Ingelheim will advance the programs further and bring promising candidates into non-clinical and clinical development. Financial terms of the new agreement are not disclosed.

About Boehringer Ingelheim
Making new and better medicines for humans and animals is at the heart of what we do. Our mission is to create breakthrough therapies that change lives. Since its founding in 1885, Boehringer Ingelheim is independent and family-owned. We have the freedom to pursue our long-term vision, looking ahead to identify the health challenges of the future and targeting those areas of need where we can do the most good.

As a world-leading, research-driven pharmaceutical company, more than 51,000 employees create value through innovation daily for our three business areas: Human Pharma, Animal Health, and Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing. In 2019, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of 19 billion euros. Our significant investment of almost 3.5 billion euros in R&D drives innovation, enabling the next generation of medicines that save lives and improve quality of life. 

We realize more scientific opportunities by embracing the power of partnership and diversity of experts across the life-science community. By working together, we accelerate the delivery of the next medical breakthrough that will transform the lives of patients now, and in generations to come.

More information about Boehringer Ingelheim can be found at www.boehringer-ingelheim.com or in our annual report: http://annualreport.boehringer-ingelheim.com.

About Gubra
Founded in 2008, Gubra is a privately-held biotech company located in Denmark delivering scientific counselling, contract research services, and projects for co-development in four main focus areas: Obesity, diabetes, NASH and diabetic complications. Gubra experts cover a number of pre-clinical disciplines: in vivo pharmacology, peptide chemistry, molecular pharmacology, histology, 3D imaging, stereology, NGS (next generation sequencing), bioinformatics and ex vivo assays. Gubra has a hybrid business model with a pipeline of early target and drug discovery programs aimed for partnering while also delivering preclinical services to customers by combining cutting-edge technology with our accumulated experience and proven methodology. Gubra is an abbreviation for GUt and BRAin, the original key focus areas of research and expertise. For more information, please visit our website at www.gubra.dk.

Media Contacts
Boehringer Ingelheim
Dr. Birgit Leimer 
Media Contact 
Boehringer Ingelheim Corporate Center GmbH
Media + PR
P: +49 6132 77- 173316
press@boehringer-ingelheim.com

Linda Ruckel 
Senior Associate Director, Media and Corporate Reputation
Boehringer Ingelheim U.S.
Media + PR
P: +1 203-791-6672 
press@boehringer-ingelheim.com
​

Gubra
Henrik Blou
CEO
P.: +45 2861 6845
hbl@gubra.dk

References

ⁱ Hu, F.B. (2008). Obesity epidemiology. Oxford University Press; Oxford; New York: p. 498.
ⁱⁱ World Health Organization. (2020). “Obesity and overweight.” Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight#:~:text=Worldwide%20obesity%20has%20nearly%20tripled%20since%201975.&text=Of%20these%20over%20650%20million,kills%20more%20people%20than%20underweight Accessed on Feb. 2, 2020.
ⁱⁱⁱ Ward, Z.J., Bleich, S.N., Cradock, A.L., et al. (2019). Projected U.S. State-Level Prevalence of Adult Obesity and Severe Obesity. New England Journal of Medicine, 381:2440-2450. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa1909301