Ablynx has earned a €5 million milestone payment following Boehringer Ingelheim's decision to initiate development with the lead Nanobody candidate that was selected in May 2010.
In January 2007, Boehringer Ingelheim and Ablynx announced a worldwide research and licensing agreement to discover and develop new therapies for Alzheimer's disease using Ablynx's Nanobodies against a single disease target. The collaboration has a potential value of $265 million in upfront and milestone payments plus undisclosed royalties on product sales. Boehringer Ingelheim is solely responsible for the development, manufacturing and commercialisation of any products resulting from the collaboration.
"We are delighted that Boehringer Ingelheim is making further progress with the Nanobody lead candidate which has the potential to be a first-in-class therapy for Alzheimer's disease and we look forward to this product advancing into the clinic in 2012. This is the second milestone payment that we have received as part of our Alzheimer's research collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim," said Dr. Edwin Moses, Chairman and CEO of Ablynx. He added: "This programme illustrates the wide applicability and advantages of our Nanobody platform in addressing diseases as complex as Alzheimer's."