Boehringer pays up to $250M to expand Variant Bio’s pact into heart disease
Boehringer Ingelheim has expanded its partnership with Variant Bio into cardiovascular disease, adding potential payments exceeding $250 million (€219 million). The agreement builds on a kidney disease collaboration signed in January.
Why it matters: The German drugmaker is extending its search for genetically supported drug targets in an area central to its business. Boehringer already markets Jardiance for heart failure and chronic kidney disease and is testing its combination with vicadrostat in Phase 3 studies.
How it works: Seattle-based Variant studies people with unusual health traits, looking for genetic differences that could point to new treatments. Its Inference platform combines genetic sequences, detailed health measurements and other biological data from populations worldwide.
- The platform uses large language models, machine learning and statistical genetics to help identify and validate drug targets.
- The original collaboration focused on cardiorenal and kidney disease, with potential payments exceeding $120 million (€105 million).
Zoom in: Variant will receive an additional upfront payment and could earn license and milestone payments exceeding $250 million. The upfront amount was not disclosed.
- The partners are seeking “genetically supported targets that could open new paths to first-in-class treatments,” said Søren Tullin, Boehringer’s global head of cardiovascular-renal-metabolic diseases research. They have not named the cardiovascular targets or disclosed a development timeline.
The big picture: This is Boehringer’s second AI discovery deal this week. The company also signed a partnership potentially worth $1 billion (€873 million) with Envisagenics to identify tumor-specific targets, extending its use of computational tools across both oncology and cardiovascular research
