Boehringer Ingelheim and MD Anderson Expand Collaboration to Accelerate Development of KRAS and TRAILR2 Compounds in Lung Cancer
14.4.2021 16:00:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Boehringer Ingelheim and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center today announced the extension and expansion of their joint Virtual Research and Development Center (VRDC) to explore new molecules from Boehringer Ingelheim’s KRAS (Kirsten rat sarcoma) and TRAILR2 (TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand receptor 2) portfolios for the potential treatment of lung cancer, particularly non-small cell lung cancer.
The collaboration, launched in 2019, has successfully combined MD Anderson’s innovative clinical research infrastructure and the patient-driven drug development capabilities of the Therapeutics Discovery division with Boehringer Ingelheim’s pipeline of innovative cancer medicines and expertise in advancing breakthrough therapies. Under the new agreement, joint research will continue for five additional years.
“Our collaboration with MD Anderson strengthens our determination to find solutions for the most difficult-to-treat cancers, and this latest commitment marks an important step forward, especially in our holistic KRAS program,” said Norbert Kraut, Ph.D., Head of Global Cancer Research at Boehringer Ingelheim. “We are delighted to extend our collaboration with MD Anderson. With our shared dedication to patients and like-minded approach to innovation, we have the potential to bring the medicines to lung and gastrointestinal cancer patients that they so much need.”
The flexible nature of the VRDC agreement allows the teams to expand their lung cancer indication programs targeting KRAS and TRAILR2, including Boehringer Ingelheim’s first-in-class SOS1::pan-KRAS inhibitor (BI 1701963), inhibitors of KRAS G12C (BI 1823911) and MEK (BI 3011441), as well as a novel undisclosed bi-specific TRAILR2 agonist.
The collaboration already has resulted in a number of joint publications, conference presentations (including at the 2021 AACR Annual Meeting) and clinical trial activities. Boehringer Ingelheim is pursuing a comprehensive mutant KRAS-directed effort with multiple programs expected to enter the VRDC with MD Anderson.
“We are proud to expand our work with Boehringer Ingelheim in a very exciting drug-development space – advancing novel targeted therapies against KRAS and TRAILR2,” said Timothy Heffernan, Ph.D., Head of Oncology Research in Therapeutics Discovery at MD Anderson. “Our collaboration is built upon a strong working relationship and complementary expertise, highlighting how an academic center and a pharmaceutical company can strategically work together to advance innovative therapies for patients with cancer.”
MD Anderson’s Therapeutics Discovery division is anchored by an experienced team of drug development experts working to advance the next generation of cancer therapies. The Translational Research to Advance Therapeutics and Innovation in Oncology (TRACTION) platform, led by Heffernan, performs cutting-edge translational research to rapidly advance new therapies to the patients most likely to benefit.
KRAS is the most frequently mutated cancer-causing oncogene. One in seven of all human metastatic cancers expresses KRAS mutations, with mutation rates of more than 30 percent in lung adenocarcinomas, more than 40 percent in colorectal cancers and more than 90 percent in pancreatic cancers. No approved treatments for KRAS-driven cancers exist currently, further underscoring the need for continued investment in research and development. Tumor cell-selective activation of TRAILR2 can trigger cancer cell death in indications of high medical need, including lung and gastrointestinal malignancies.
Intended Audiences
This press release is issued from our corporate headquarters in Ingelheim, Germany and is intended to provide information about our global business. Please be aware that information relating to the approval status and labels of approved products may vary from country to country, and a country-specific press release on this topic may have been issued in the countries where we do business.
Disclosures
MD Anderson has an institutional financial conflict of interest with Boehringer Ingelheim related to this research and has therefore implemented an Institutional Conflict of Interest Management and Monitoring Plan.
Please click on the following link for ‘Notes to Editors’ and ‘References’:
http://www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/press-release/expanded-collaboration-md-anderson
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210414005484/en/
Contact information
Media Contacts
Sarah Soetbeer
Boehringer Ingelheim Corporate Center GmbH
Communications + Public Affairs
P: +49 (6132) 77-183874
press@boehringer-ingelheim.com
Linda Ruckel
Senior Associate Director, Media and Corporate Reputation
Boehringer Ingelheim U.S.
Media + PR
P: +1 203-791-6672
press@boehringer-ingelheim.com
Clayton Boldt, Ph.D.
Public Relations
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
P: +1 713-792-9518
crboldt@mdanderson.org
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
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
Foundever Successfully Closes a Holistic Recapitalization, Reducing its Debt by Nearly $900 Million and Strengthening its Financial Position for Long-Term Growth17.8.2026 14:30:00 EEST | Press release
Foundever Group S.A.® (“Foundever” or the “Company”) – a global leader in integrated customer experience, digital operations and analytics services, today announced that it has successfully closed a holistic recapitalization (the “Transaction”) in coordination with 95.4% of the lenders under its term loan facility (“Term Loan Lenders”), 100% of its revolving credit facility lenders (“RCF Lenders”), and the Company’s existing majority shareholders. The Transaction meaningfully strengthens Foundever’s financial foundation and positions the Company to invest in its growth strategy. Key terms of the Transaction include: Company's existing majority shareholders invest $225 million into common equity. Term loan facility exchange reduces the Company's total debt by nearly $900 million. Revolving credit facility maturity date is extended by more than four years to December 2030, and term loan maturity date is extended by more than 2.5 years to March 2031. Certain of the Company's RCF Lenders p
Uniphore Launches Marketing AI as Marketing Moves Beyond the CDP17.8.2026 14:30:00 EEST | Press release
Uniphore, the Business AI company, today launched Marketing AI, ushering in a new era of enterprise marketing built on customer intelligence rather than customer data management. Uniphore Marketing AI gives marketers the ability to know every customer better than ever before, predict what each customer is likely to do next and simulate marketing outcomes before committing budget. The system continuously learns from every customer interaction, making its predictions more accurate with every cycle. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260817325069/en/ The Uniphore Marketing AI Flywheel: A Self-Learning System Named a Leader in the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Customer Data Platforms, Uniphore has helped enterprises bring customer data together while providing sovereign control over where that data lives. Marketing AI builds on that foundation, extending Uniphore’s composable approach from the data layer into the
Instabase Becomes SuperApp, Launches the AI Collaboration Super App17.8.2026 13:00:00 EEST | Press release
SuperApp, Inc., formerly Instabase, Inc., today launched SuperApp, the AI collaboration super app, available on the web, iOS, Android, and desktop. SuperApp brings teams and leading AI models from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, xAI, and others into one live thread — from the first conversation to finished work. The company changed its name to reflect the new product and company direction. Work today is split into three. Teams talk in one app. They ask AI in another. They make the final work somewhere else. Every handoff asks people to remember what the software forgot. SuperApp brings those moments together. People and AI begin in the same live thread. Teams can use Claude from Anthropic, GPT from OpenAI, Gemini from Google, Grok from xAI, and other leading models, then turn the conversation into a document, presentation, spreadsheet, or interactive app — without losing the people, sources, decisions, feedback, or context that made the work possible. Put simply: think of the communication
Confluence Launches Confluence POINT, Bringing AI-Enabled Automation Across Its Product Suite.17.8.2026 12:04:00 EEST | Press release
Confluence Technologies, Inc. (“Confluence”), a global leader in regulatory, analytics, and investor communications solutions for the investment management industry, today announced the launch of Confluence POINT, AI-enabled automation that optimizes workflows across its solutions. Confluence delivers specialist regulatory, analytics and investor solutions that are unrivalled at what they do. POINT is AI-enabled automation that runs within and alongside these solutions, letting them do more for our clients, reducing manual effort that typically occurs before or after automated processes. POINT Validation transforms and validates documents across a range of formats, including unstructured data. POINT’s AI-powered validation is complete in minutes, delivered via an automated checklist that runs independently. Every finding is backed by an audit trail, and errors are flagged for follow up. POINT eliminates the time-consuming manual validation that follows automated financial and regulator
Xsolla Adds 15+ New Local Payment Methods, Letting Game Developers Reach Players Across Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Americas17.8.2026 11:00:00 EEST | Press release
Xsolla, a global video game commerce company, today announced the addition of 15+ new payment methods to Xsolla Payments ahead of Gamescom 2026, spanning Asia and Oceania, EMEA, and the Americas. Game developers and publishers can now accept the local payment methods players already use, across markets from Indonesia and the Philippines to Germany, France, and the United States, with no additional integration required for any individual method. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260817000143/en/ Graphic: Xsolla The shift toward local payment methods is reshaping the digital payments landscape well beyond emerging markets. Across Europe, banks and regulators are building account-to-account and instant-payment alternatives to international cards, and the same pull toward local, instant options holds worldwide. Because locally preferred methods feel more familiar and trusted, they convert more shoppers, and merchant
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