BOEHRINGER-INGELHEIM
Boehringer Ingelheim and Zealand Pharma A/S (“Zealand”) (NASDAQ: ZEAL) announced the initiation of two Phase 2 trials of the GLP-1/glucagon dual agonist BI 456906 for adults who are overweight or obese and for adults with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The compound was in-licensed from Zealand in 2011 and is being investigated in an ongoing Phase 2 study in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The once-weekly therapy may offer additional benefits on both chronic weight management, and NASH improvement and prevention of the progression to cirrhosis compared to currently available treatments with mono GLP-1 agonist compounds. BI 456906 is part of Boehringer Ingelheim’s growing portfolio in the obesity and NASH disease areas.
“Obesity and NASH are areas of high unmet medical need, with limited approved treatments currently available. They are associated with lower quality of life and increased mortality,” explains Prof. Arun J. Sanyal, Professor of Medicine, Physiology and Molecular Pathology at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond, Virginia. “I hope that this new approach will bring a much-needed treatment option for HCPs and people afflicted with obesity or NASH.”
Boehringer Ingelheim and Zealand have a fruitful longstanding partnership, bringing together Zealand’s expertise in the discovery of innovative peptide-based medicines with Boehringer Ingelheim’s expertise in the research and development of novel medicines for cardiometabolic diseases. “We are very excited to see the initiation of Phase 2 trials of BI 456906 for obesity and NASH,” said Adam Steensberg, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Zealand Pharma. “By combining GLP-1 and glucagon agonism mechanistically, we believe our dual agonist has the potential to achieve increased weight loss, via improvement of the patient’s metabolism, and also has potential to alleviate NASH by reducing upstream steatosis.”
“Our cardiometabolic research and development is focusing on discovering novel treatments for obesity and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), to meet the large unmet need among these groups,” explains Waheed Jamal, MD, Head of Cardiovascular, Metabolic and Respiratory Medicine at Boehringer Ingelheim. “We are exploring a number of unique approaches with great potential to help people living with obesity or NASH. We believe dual agonists are next generation drug candidates with a potential for higher efficacy in weight loss and NASH improvement/cirrhosis prevention.”
Under the terms of the GLP-1/glucagon dual agonist licensing agreement, Boehringer Ingelheim funds all research, development and commercialization activities. Zealand is entitled to receive up to EUR 345 million in outstanding milestone payments. No milestone payments are due with the initiations of these Phase 2 studies. The agreement also carries high-single digit to low-double digit percentage royalties on global sales.
Please click on the following link for ‘Notes to Editors’ and ‘References’:
http://www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/press-release/clinical-phase2-trials-nash-and-obesity
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210413005636/en/
Link:
About Business Wire
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
Altris and Draslovka Partner to Scale Europe’s First Sodium-Ion Battery Technology Supply Chain15.1.2026 14:00:00 CET | Press release
Altris, a Swedish sodium-ion battery developer, and Draslovka, a global leader in specialty chemicals, have entered a strategic partnership to build Europe’s first industrial-scale sodium-ion cathode value chain. Under the comprehensive agreement that includes a total 19.3 MEUR in-kind investment by Draslovka in Altris, the two companies will scale fully connected production of Altris’ patented sodium-ion cathode active material (CAM) at Draslovka’s facility in Kolín, Czech Republic, supplying up to 350 tonnes of CAM annually. Draslovka and Altris are partnering to convert an existing line at Draslovka’s Kolín facility for production of Altris’ sodium-ion CAM, enabling rapid time-to-market and capital-efficient scale-up. Once ramped, the line will support production of up to 350 tonnes annually – a European-controlled supply equivalent to around 175 MWh of sodium-ion cell capacity. As part of the agreement, Draslovka is making a new in‑kind 19.3 MEUR strategic investment in Altris to c
CPP Investments Increases Commitment to Canadian Market through Northleaf Capital Partners15.1.2026 14:00:00 CET | Press release
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) and Northleaf Capital Partners (Northleaf) today announced a significant expansion of their longstanding Canadian investment partnership, supporting the growth and scaling of domestic private companies. CPP Investments has committed to invest an additional C$750 million through its established Canadian mid-market program managed by Northleaf, bringing CPP Investments’ cumulative commitments to the manager to more than C$3 billion since inception. The customized mandate focuses on maximizing net returns through a diversified strategy that includes primary fund commitments to small and mid-market Canadian buyout funds, secondary investments, and direct co-investments focused on the domestic market. “There are compelling investment opportunities in the Canadian market, and our two-decade long partnership with Northleaf has proven to be an effective and scalable way to invest in homegrown businesses with patient, long-term capital,” sa
Vantage Data Centers Completes £200M Tap of Existing £600M Industry-First EMEA Data Center Asset-Backed Securitization (ABS) and Adds New £54M Class B Tranche15.1.2026 14:00:00 CET | Press release
Financing will support the company’s expansion across EMEA to keep pace with AI and cloud demand Vantage Data Centers, a leading global provider of hyperscale data center campuses, today announced it has raised an additional £254 million in securitized term notes. £200 million was raised through a tap of the existing Class A-2 Notes while £54 million was raised from the new Class B Tranche. This builds on Vantage’s debut public issuance in 2024 raising £600 million, which was the first-ever EMEA data center ABS completed in sterling. The Class A-2 Notes are rated A-, A (low) and A by Standard & Poor’s, Morningstar DBRS and Scope Ratings, respectively. The Class B Notes are rated BBB- by Standard & Poor’s and BBB by Morningstar DBRS and Scope Ratings. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260115777091/en/ Vantage’s 148MW Cardiff, Wales, campus is one of Europe’s largest hyperscale data center campuses. The new notes
QPS Selects Oracle Argus Safety Database to Enhance Pharmacovigilance in Clinical Trials15.1.2026 13:57:00 CET | Press release
QPS Holdings, LLC (QPS), an award-winning contract research organization (CRO) focused on bioanalysis and clinical trials announces the successful implementation of Oracle Argus, a premier pharmacovigilance system designed to support comprehensive safety case management for clinical trials. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260115711485/en/ Derek Grimes, EVP, Global Head of Clinical Research at QPS Holdings, LLC. The adoption of the Oracle Argus drug safety platform underscores QPS’s commitment to advancing patient safety, regulatory compliance, and operational excellence across its clients’ clinical drug development programs. Integrating this industry-standard safety platform strengthens QPS’ ability to capture, manage, and report adverse events in accordance with global regulatory requirements. “Ensuring patient safety and data integrity is at the heart of what we do when conducting clinical trials,” said Dere
InterAx and Alveus Announce Strategic Research and Licensing Agreement to Develop Differentiated Therapeutic Candidate for Metabolic Disease15.1.2026 13:30:00 CET | Press release
InterAx Biotech Ltd (“InterAx”) and Alveus Therapeutics Inc. (“Alveus”) today announced a strategic research collaboration and licensing agreement to develop a differentiated small molecule candidate for metabolic disease to deliver durable weight loss with superior tolerability. This partnership forms a joint research effort on a target and modality of established but untapped therapeutic interest by combining InterAx’s Deep Signal™ discovery platform – designed to optimize candidates toward superior signaling profiles – with Alveus’s deep R&D expertise and leadership in obesity, diabetes, and cardiometabolic disease. While financial terms remain undisclosed, the agreement includes an upfront payment and eligibility for future development, regulatory, and commercial milestones. “We are thrilled to join forces with Alveus to advance a highly differentiated therapeutic candidate designed to overcome the limitations of today’s obesity medications,” said Andrew Roberts, CEO of InterAx. “O
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