CDR-Life, Boehringer Ingelheim announce second milestone achievement in developing antibody fragment-based therapeutics for GA

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CDR-Life Inc. announced a milestone payment triggered by the achievement of a development milestone with a partnered antibody fragment-based drug candidate that could significantly slow down the progression of geographic atrophy (GA).

According to a news release, Boehringer Ingelheim and CDR-Life entered a collaboration and licensing agreement in May 2020 and announced the selection of an antibody fragment-based therapeutic candidate in September 2021.

A key topic at the recent American Society of Retina Specialists annual meeting in Seattle, GA occurs in people living with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and affects approximately 8 million people globally.

“This milestone is continued validation of the expertise of our team to identify high-quality antibody fragment-based drug candidates across a broad range of therapeutic applications,” Christian Leisner, PhD, CEO at CDR-Life, said in the news release. “Our partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim has proven successful and will hopefully bring life-changing new treatments for people living with this devastating disease.”

According to the news release, in addition to its partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim, CDR-Life also is developing its own pipeline of novel antibody fragment-based T cell engagers against solid tumors. By uniquely targeting the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), CDR-Life is able to access a new class of intracellular tumor antigens to engage T cells. The company’s first of several therapeutic candidates in development, CDR404, targets MAGE-A4 and is anticipated to enter the clinic in 2024.