Business Wire

BOEHRINGER-INGELHEIM

11.6.2019 14:02:15 CEST | Business Wire | Press release

Share
Boehringer Ingelheim and University of Dundee Highlight Successful PROTAC Drug Discovery Program and Extend Their Ongoing Anti-Cancer Alliance

Following the success of their ongoing alliance, Boehringer Ingelheim and the University of Dundee extend their collaboration to develop new medicines that target and destroy key cancer causing proteins. This brings together the expertise of Professor Alessio Ciulli, one of the pioneers in the field of Proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs), based in the School of Life Sciences at Dundee, with Boehringer Ingelheim’s pharmaceutical expertise and commitment to bring innovative medicines to patients with cancer.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190611005444/en/

PROTACs represent a new class of drug candidates with the potential to tackle compelling cancer targets which have failed traditional medicinal chemistry approaches. They work by harnessing the cell’s natural disposal system (the ubiquitin-proteasome). Candidate disease-causing proteins are labelled as “expired” proteins which the proteasome then shreds.

“PROTACs are a disruptive therapeutic modality which are bringing previously deemed undruggable targets within reach. Our collaboration will continue to work to bring this new class of medicines to patients,” said Darryl B. McConnell, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Research Site Head, Boehringer Ingelheim, Vienna, Austria. “The joint team is making rapid progress and have successfully reached the first collaboration milestone setting a solid basis for achieving our goals.”

Since the initiation of the collaboration in 2016 and a significant expansion in 2018, the application of PROTACs has grown dramatically. However, designing PROTACs remains challenging and largely empirical in nature, hindering faster progress in the field. The partners have thus developed a structure-based design approach as a solid basis to accelerate further development. In addition, to boost PROTAC research around the world, Boehringer Ingelheim has made the protein degrader compound MZ-1, developed at the University of Dundee, freely available through its opnMe portal in 2018. Further PROTAC molecules are considered for release on opnMe based on the success of this initiative.

The joint team has reported recent progress in a number of scientific publications, including most recently in the journal Nature Chemical Biology . This publication highlights their approach to use 3-dimensional pictures at atomic resolution to design highly potent and selective drug candidates. The new approach has yielded the first PROTAC which shreds SMARCA2, a protein that drives the tumors of more than 20,000 new patients with cancer each year and for which drug discovery approaches have otherwise been unsuccessful to date.

“Our joint publication is a leading example of translating the detailed understanding we are developing of how PROTACs work, to craft degrader molecules that effectively tackle previously ‘undruggable’ targets”, said Alessio Ciulli, Ph.D., Chair of Chemical and Structural Biology at the University of Dundee, and winner of the 2016 RSC Capps Green Zomaya Award for medicinal chemistry. “The expansion marks an important milestone in the development of our alliance. It enables the joint team to drive the next phase of degrading highly-prized cancer targets previously intractable via other approaches”

Boehringer Ingelheim is focusing on developing innovative new treatment approaches providing outstanding value for patients. To achieve this, the company is increasing its commitment to external innovation, and is working with top partners from academia and industry worldwide. A growing network of academic collaborations reflects the company’s focus on emerging science that could open new avenues leading to the breakthrough medications of the future.

Please click on the link for “Notes to Editors” and “References”:

http://www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/press-release/boehringer-ingelheim-extends-protac-discovery-program

Contact:

Boehringer Ingelheim: Dr. Reinhard Malin Head of Communications Innovation Unit Boehringer Ingelheim Corporate Center GmbH Media + PR press@boehringer-ingelheim.com P: +49 6132 77-90815 M: + 49 151 150 20 690 www.boehringer-ingelheim.com

Link:

ClickThru

About Business Wire

Business Wire
Business Wire
101 California Street, 20th Floor
CA 94111 San Francisco

http://businesswire.com

Subscribe to releases from Business Wire

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Business Wire

One Biosciences Announces Data Validating New Method for Single-Cell Transcriptomic Tumor Profiling from Clinical Pathology Samples30.7.2026 21:03:00 CEST | Press release

Sample-to-report workflow generating single-cell RNA expression profiles using routine FFPE pathology slides from four institutions validated across 88 specimens and six cancer types One Biosciences, a techbio company pioneering clinical-grade single-cell tumor profiling, today announced data establishing that single-cell RNA expression profiles can be generated from the standard, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) pathology specimens obtained in routine cancer care using the company’s proprietary platform, OneMap™. The study, conducted with collaborators at Centre Léon Bérard, Hôpital Bichat–Claude Bernard, Institut Curie, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, was released as a preprint on BiorXiv. “Every tumor is a unique ecosystem of many different types of cells, some cancerous, some not. Single cell profiling enables us to understand what those cells are, what they’re doing and potentially how that may impact treatment outcomes,” said Helena Yu, MD, thoracic medical onc

ARIS Recognized as a Leader in First Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Digital Twin of an Organization Platforms, Believes This Reinforces Need for Trusted Governance and Control of Enterprise AI30.7.2026 18:00:00 CEST | Press release

ARIS, the process context platform enabling enterprise AI deployment, today announced its recognition as a Leader in the inaugural Gartner Magic Quadrant for Digital Twin of An Organization (DTO) Platforms – where it believes agentic AI, autonomous workflows, and enterprise governance converge. As enterprises move from AI experimentation to autonomous agent deployment, a critical challenge emerges: how do you safely scale autonomous AI when the enterprise lacks a unified digital twin – a single source of truth for processes, data, governance, and outcomes? Gartner describes the DTO as a dynamic software model that relies on operational and contextual data to understand how an organization operationalizes its business model, connects with its current state, responds to changes, deploys resources, simulates future states and delivers customer value. "Enterprises are rightfully ambitious about agentic AI and autonomous workflows," said Guillaume Bacuvier, CEO of ARIS. "But they're discove

Kingswood Capital Management Raises $4 Billion Across Two Oversubscribed Middle-Market Funds30.7.2026 17:00:00 CEST | Press release

The firm’s fourth institutional fundraise more than doubles its assets under management, reaching over $7 billion Kingswood Capital Management, L.P. (together with its affiliates, “Kingswood”), a Los Angeles-based investment firm focused on the middle-market, today announced the final closing of Kingswood Capital Opportunities Fund IV, L.P. (together with its parallel fund, “Fund IV”), with total capital commitments of $3.1 billion, as well as Kingswood Capital Opportunities Small Cap Fund I, L.P. (together with its parallel fund, “Small Cap Fund I”), with total capital commitments of $900 million. These funds more than double Kingswood’s total assets under management (“AUM”) to over $7 billion. Fund IV represents the fourth institutional fundraise in five years for Kingswood and is more than double the size of Fund III. Both Fund IV and the inaugural Small Cap Fund I were significantly oversubscribed in just five weeks. Fund IV exceeded its initial target of $2.25 billion, while Small

CyrusOne Names John Hatem Chief Executive Officer to Accelerate its Global Digital Infrastructure Strategy30.7.2026 15:30:00 CEST | Press release

Nearly 15-Year Company Veteran and Respected Industry Leader Succeeds Eric Schwartz CyrusOne (the “Company”), a leading global data center owner, developer and operator, today announced the appointment of John Hatem as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Company’s Board, effective immediately. As part of the Company’s long-term succession planning, Eric Schwartz, who successfully led CyrusOne through a period of significant expansion, is stepping down as CEO and will work together with Hatem to ensure a smooth transition. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260730005910/en/ John Hatem Hatem joined CyrusOne in 2011 and has held a series of increasingly senior roles across the business. He most recently served as President, responsible for global sales, global procurement, and design, engineering, and construction in the United States. His deep experience in data center design, development, and operations ha

Mary Kay Releases 2026 Sustainability Report Highlighting Transformative Progress Across Social, Economic, and Environmental Impact Globally30.7.2026 14:03:00 CEST | Press release

Beauty Leader Ranked #8 on Forbes’ 2026 Best Brands For Social Impact List Mary Kay Inc., a leading global beauty company committed to sustainability and women’s empowerment, today released its 2026 Sustainability Report, outlining progress toward its 2030 goals and celebrating the 2025 and latest achievements that continue to drive positive change globally. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260730240667/en/ Mary Kay's annual 2026 Sustainability Report highlights the company's decades-long dedication to social, economic, and environmental sustainability - core pillars central to its business strategy and its purpose-driven legacy rooted in Mary Kay's mission of “enriching women’s lives” around the world. (Image Credit: Mary Kay Inc.) The annual report highlights Mary Kay’s decades-long dedication to social, economic, and environmental sustainability - core pillars central to its business strategy and its purpose

In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.

Visit our pressroom
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye