Boehringer Ingelheim and King’s College London join forces to progress new therapeutic concepts in major depressive disorder and schizophrenia

Ingelheim, Germany and London, UK, 27 October 2021 – Boehringer Ingelheim and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London today announced a new collaboration focused on understanding the malfunctions in brain circuits that drive impaired cognition in people with major depressive disorder (MDD) and schizophrenia (SZ). The study will aim to connect individual symptoms to specific brain-circuit dysfunctions, and will inform the development of novel therapies that target the underlying neurobiological processes of individual behavioral traits.

“We are delighted to collaborate with King’s IoPPN, a leading institute for research in psychiatry,” said Dr. Vikas Mohan Sharma, Head of Medicine CNS, Retinopathies & Emerging Areas at Boehringer Ingelheim. “This collaboration will advance our understanding to better assess cognition and those biomarkers linked to cognitive deterioration in people with major depressive disorder and schizophrenia. We look forward to jointly creating opportunities to accelerate future clinical trials and the development of treatments for the many people impacted by psychiatric disorders.”

The partners plan to conduct four clinical studies to assess the behaviors of people with MDD and SZ in their home environments as well as during their study center visits where the activation of brain circuits triggered by cognitive tasks will be mapped. The unique study design includes, beyond standard clinical assessments, a battery of cognitive tasks, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), electroencephalography (EEG), polysomnography, patient functioning assessment through virtual reality tools and digital biomarkers to monitor speech and sleep habits. 

“King’s College London has a long-standing focus on advancing the understanding of brain circuits responsible for cognition deficits in both psychiatric and neurological disorders,” said Professor Steven Williams, project lead and Head of Department of Neuroimaging at King’s IoPPN. “Working with Boehringer Ingelheim, a research-driven company with vast experience in central nervous system drug discovery and clinical development, will allow us to enlist their expertise in clinical study design, enable new therapeutic concepts and better clinical trials of individual patient populations.”

Neuropsychiatric disorders affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide and can impact people’s health and their ability to learn and work.ⁱ Cognition is a fundamental aspect of everyday life, including problem-solving, memory and attention. When affected, people living with poor cognition can have a reduced mental ability to process information, remember straightforward things or perceive other people’s emotions and expressions. These malfunctions are common across many forms of mental disorders. Although antipsychotic medications have evolved in the 1990s since their introduction, treatment options have otherwise remained mostly unchanged. This is at least partly due to the lack of breakthrough therapies to treat severe mental health issues.ⁱⁱ Finding solutions for cognitive impairment is a key area of Boehringer Ingelheim’s innovative mental health research. The company has built a comprehensive development program in this area including two ongoing phase II trials and a recent first-of-its-kind phase III start for its novel glycine transporter-1 (GlyT1) inhibitor. The clinical study of GlyT1 is an example for the potential development of new therapeutic concepts based on better understanding of which brain circuits are relevant for cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia.

Boehringer Ingelheim Mental Health

At Boehringer Ingelheim Mental Health, we are redefining mental health to enable people to thrive. We link behavior to the underlying neurobiology to develop targeted therapies that can ease the burden of these conditions, not just the symptoms. By combining traditional treatment approaches with new and innovative approaches and technologies, we will enable those with mental health conditions to create more meaningful connections to their lives, loved ones and society. 

About Boehringer Ingelheim

Boehringer Ingelheim is working on breakthrough therapies that improve the lives of humans and animals. As a leading research-driven biopharmaceutical company, the company creates value through innovation in areas of high unmet medical need. Founded in 1885 and family-owned ever since, Boehringer Ingelheim takes a long-term perspective. Around 52,000 employees serve more than 130 markets in the three business areas, Human Pharma, Animal Health, and Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing. Learn more at www.boehringer-ingelheim.com.

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About King’s College London and the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience

King’s College London is one of the top 10 UK universities in the world (QS World University Rankings, 2018/19) and among the oldest in England. King’s has more than 31,000 students (including more than 12,800 postgraduates) from some 150 countries worldwide, and some 8,500 staff.

The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London is the premier centre for mental health and related neurosciences research in Europe. It produces more highly cited outputs (top 1% citations) on mental health than any other centre (SciVal 2019) and on this metric we have risen from 16th (2014) to 4th (2019) in the world for highly cited neuroscience outputs. World-leading research from the IoPPN has made, and continues to make, an impact on how we understand, prevent and treat mental illness and other conditions that affect the brain. https://www.kcl.ac.uk/ioppn @KingsIoPPN

King’s College London Media Contact

Patrick O’Brien
Senor Media Officer
Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London
Media + PR
P: +44 (0)20-7848-5377
Patrick.1.obrien@kcl.ac.uk