Boehringer Ingelheim, Evotec and bioMérieux launch Aurobac, a joint venture to fight Antimicrobial Resistance
Boehringer Ingelheim, a leading research-driven biopharmaceutical company, the life science company Evotec SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: EVT, MDAX/TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809; NASDAQ: EVO) and bioMérieux, a world leader in in vitro diagnostics, announced today that they have formed a joint venture to create the next generation of antimicrobials along with actionable diagnostics to fight Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).
The resulting company, Aurobac Therapeutics SAS, will combine the best capabilities of the three founding companies towards developing a new precision medicine approach, from diagnosis to cure. The aspiration is to succeed in the fight against AMR, which is a major public health threat. Having routine surgery such as caesarean sections or hip replacements may become life threatening, and complications from common diseases such as diabetes and injuries or cuts will become harder to manage because of growing resistance to antibiotics in patients.
“The rise of antibiotic-resistant infections – also called antimicrobial resistance, or AMR – is indeed a looming global crisis,” said Michel Pairet, Head of Boehringer Ingelheim’s Innovation Unit and Member of the Board of Managing Directors. “Antibiotic resistance kills about 1.27 million people globally every year1 and it has been estimated that by 2050, as many as 10 million worldwide deaths could result from AMR2, making it potentially deadlier than cancer.”
Werner Lanthaler, CEO of Evotec added: “The grim prospect of a post-antibiotic era has many causes but only one solution: The development of new, targeted, and effective antimicrobial therapies. We are excited to launch Aurobac together with our partners at Boehringer Ingelheim and bioMérieux, to combine our complementary strengths. By leveraging Evotec’s multimodality approach to infectious diseases, we are confident that Aurobac will be able to generate much-needed progress to tackle the global challenge of AMR.”
“bioMérieux has a strong expertise in antimicrobial resistance. We supply the most comprehensive integrated diagnostic solutions to support an appropriate use of antibiotics (antimicrobial stewardship),” said Alexandre Mérieux, bioMérieux Chairman and CEO. “Our role within the joint venture is to develop and commercialize diagnostic tests, including Companion Diagnostics, which deliver rapid, reliable and actionable results. This participation in Aurobac is perfectly aligned with bioMérieux’ full commitment to sustain antibiotic efficacy for future generations.”
Aurobac will work to shift the strategy related to antibiotic treatment regimens which at the moment leans heavily on empirical approaches using broad-spectrum and unfocused medicines. The goal is to turn this into a precision approach, using new highly effective and targeted modalities, combined with rapid and actionable diagnostics to quickly identify pathogens and their resistance patterns, and supported by new economic models.
Funded by Boehringer Ingelheim as lead investor with 30 million EUR and by Evotec and bioMérieux with 5 million EUR each, the 40 million EUR joint venture, which has its headquarters in Lyon (France), combines the world leading expertise of Evotec, one of the most active research companies in infectious diseases, with bioMérieux’s market-leading expertise in infectious disease diagnostics and with Boehringer Ingelheim’s broad drug discovery and significant clinical development capabilities.
Three partners committed to combat AMR
Boehringer Ingelheim’s participation in Aurobac is part of a wider so-called pandemic preparedness initiative, which includes a 50 million EUR investment in the AMR action fund by Boehringer Ingelheim. Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund has committed to invest up to 12 million EUR in AMR infection companies.
bioMérieux has over 55 years of diagnostics expertise with more than 75 percent of its research and development budget focused on antimicrobial resistance. Moreover, 80 percent of its turnover is related to the fight against AMR through a complete diagnostic solution facilitating antibiotic therapy decision-making, including antibiotic initiation, optimization, and discontinuation.
Evotec has built a world-leading platform to tackle infectious diseases. With a more than 200-strong anti-infective discovery team, the company has proven experience on multiple agent classes. On top of the company’s own pre-competitive pandemic preparedness and rapid response technology platform (“PRROTECT”), Evotec leverages its infectious disease capabilities with many industry, academic and non-profit partners and is active in a variety of networks such as the AMR Accelerator that is part of the EU’s Innovative Medicines Initiative (“IMI”).
References
1
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02724-0/fulltext#seccestitle10
2
https://amr-review.org/sites/default/files/AMR%20Review%20Paper%20-%20Tackling%20a%20crisis%20for%20the%20health%20and%20wealth%20of%20nations_1.pdf
Please click on the following link for ‘Notes to Editors’ and ‘References’:
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/20220705005880/en/
Contact information
Boehringer Ingelheim
Corporate Affairs
Harro Ten Wolde
55216 Ingelheim
Phone: +49 151 61901069
Email: press@boehringer-ingelheim.com
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
Fitch Learning Completes Acquisition of Moody’s Analytics Learning Solutions and the Canadian Securities Institute5.12.2025 17:48:00 EET | Press release
Fitch Learning, the global leader in financial learning and professional certifications, today announced the completion of its acquisition of Moody’s Analytics Learning Solutions (MALS) and the Canadian Securities Institute (CSI). MALS is a global provider of credit and digital learning, and CSI is a leading provider of certifications for the Canadian financial services industry. Fitch Learning, recognized globally as the premier financial education provider, delivers specialized training for the financial services industry through accredited qualifications, flexible corporate solutions programs, managed services and digital learning solutions trusted by leading institutions worldwide. The combined business will serve over 92,000 finance professionals across 148 countries, at every stage of their careers. “This acquisition is about creating more opportunities for growth – for organizations and for individuals,” said Andreas Karaiskos, CEO of Fitch Learning. “By combining both organizat
Arthur D. Little and Vega IT Unveil Joint Venture for Digital Innovation5.12.2025 17:00:00 EET | Press release
Arthur D. Little (ADL) and Vega IT today announced the formation of Axceler8 Solutions, a 50/50 joint venture created to design, develop, and operate a portfolio of digital and AI solutions aimed at improving efficiency and automating complex business processes. The launch of this new company is the direct outcome of a year of successful collaboration between the two firms and marks a new phase in their shared ambition to bring scalable, high-performance digital solutions to market, aiming to further augment their clients’ capacity to compress time to impact in a variety of domains. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251205465303/en/ Arthur D. Little and Vega IT have announced the formation of Axceler8 Solutions, a 50/50 joint venture created to design, develop, and operate a portfolio of digital and AI solutions. Axceler8 Solutions’ first product, Axceler8 Rx, is now live as a newly developed platform, and is a
Lone Star Announces Sale of SPX FLOW to ITT Inc.5.12.2025 14:30:00 EET | Press release
Lone Star Funds (“Lone Star”) today announced the signing by an affiliate of Lone Star Fund XI, LP of a definitive agreement to sell SPX FLOW, Inc. (“SPX FLOW”), a leading provider of highly engineered equipment and process technologies for attractive end markets including industrial, health and nutrition, to ITT Inc. (NYSE: ITT) for $4.775 billion in cash and shares of common stock. Based in Charlotte, N.C., SPX FLOW focuses on process technologies delivering mixing, blending, fluid handling, separation, thermal heat transfer and other solutions integral to industrial, health and nutrition markets. The company has operations in more than 25 countries and sales in more than 140 countries. In partnership with Lone Star, SPX FLOW has focused on improving its sales execution and operating platform, while ensuring high quality and innovative product development. The management team has improved the company’s commercial organization and executed growth initiatives to build its presence in e
AmTrust Financial Services and Blackstone Credit & Insurance Close Strategic Transaction and Launch Newly Formed Multinational MGA Company Named ANV Group Holdings Ltd.5.12.2025 14:00:00 EET | Press release
AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. (“AmTrust” or the “Company”), a global specialty property casualty insurer, and Blackstone Credit & Insurance (“BXCI”), today announced the closing of a strategic transaction under which AmTrust and funds managed by BXCI have partnered to spin-off certain of AmTrust’s Managing General Agencies (“MGAs”) and fee-based businesses in the U.S., United Kingdom, and Continental Europe, into ANV Group Holdings Ltd. (“ANV”), a newly formed independent company, following receipt of regulatory approvals. AmTrust and ANV have entered into a ten-year capacity agreement through which AmTrust will remain the underwriter for the existing books of business offered through the MGAs. As previously announced on September 15, 2025, the agreement includes seven AmTrust subsidiaries: ANV Specialty, Risico, Collegiate, ANV Nordic, Arc Legal, Qualis, and Abacus. These businesses provide diverse risk and insurance coverages including cyber excess and surplus (E&S), directors and
Galderma Opens up New Chapter for Sculptra ® with MDR Certification and New Expanded Indication for Body5.12.2025 08:00:00 EET | Press release
Galderma (SIX: GALD), the pure-play dermatology category leader, today announced the certification of Sculptra for body indications in the European Union (EU) following its certification under the EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR). This expands Sculptra’s current clinical use on the face, to include four new areas: gluteal area, posterior thighs, décolletage, and upper arms. Sculptra can be used across these areas to address varied treatment goals – from improving skin quality (including the improvement in cellulite appearance), to enhancing firmness, as well as lift, projection, and contouring.1-5 Sculptra’s versatility allows practitioners to meet each patient’s unique needs, delivering natural-looking, long-lasting improvements across face and body. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251204988559/en/ Meeting the moment: evolving patient needs As aesthetic expectations shift, patients are seeking more holistic
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