Boehringer Ingelheim and Sosei Heptares join forces to develop first-in-class treatments targeting all symptoms of schizophrenia - Seite 2

“We’re very excited to enter this partnership with Sosei Heptares with this novel approach, which aims to address a huge unmet need of those living with schizophrenia. This partnership is highly complementary to our other development programs aiming to bring a new precision medicine approach to the treatment of mental health disorders with therapies, which we hope will transform the lives of those living with schizophrenia,” states Hugh Marston, Global Head CNS Discovery Research at Boehringer Ingelheim.

Matt Barnes, President of Heptares Therapeutics and Head of UK R&D at Sosei Heptares, commented: “This collaboration highlights the significant potential GPR52 has shown in preclinical research as a novel, first in class target for the treatment of schizophrenia and related neurological disorders. We’re delighted to partner with Boehringer Ingelheim and leverage its leading expertise in neurological disease research and innovation. Together, we will focus on accelerating the development of this highly innovative program, which is currently in a Phase 1 clinical study, towards patients in need.”

About the Agreement
Sosei Heptares will receive an upfront payment of EUR 25 million from Boehringer Ingelheim upon signing and is eligible for an option exercise payment of EUR 60 million and further development, regulatory and commercialization milestone payments totaling up to EUR 670 million plus customary tiered royalties for a clinical-stage asset on future Boehringer Ingelheim product sales.

Under the terms of the agreement, Boehringer Ingelheim has the exclusive option to license Sosei Heptares’ portfolio of GPR52 agonists following the completion of Sosei Heptares’ ongoing Phase 1 and subsequent Phase 1b trial and further Phase 2 enabling activities with HTL0048149, a first-in-class GPR52 agonist. Sosei Heptares will retain control and act as sponsor of these trials until option exercise, estimated in 2025. The licensed portfolio will include HTL0048149 as well as multiple differentiated back-up compounds designed by Sosei Heptares using its StaR technology and structure-based drug design (SBDD) platform.

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About GPR52 and HTL0048149
GPR52 is an orphan G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) highly expressed in the brain, especially in the striatum and the prefrontal cortex, and represents a potential emerging therapeutic target for a range of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders⁹.

Sosei Heptares has developed a portfolio of selective GPR52 agonists and modulators leveraging proprietary insights from its StaR technology SBDD platform, the most advanced of which (HTL0048149) entered a first-in-human clinical trial in 2023¹⁰.