Boehringer Ingelheim Partners with Enleofen to Develop First-in-Class Anti-IL-11 Therapies for a Range of Fibrotic Diseases
9.1.2020 15:00:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
Boehringer Ingelheim and Enleofen Bio Pte. Ltd. (Enleofen) announced today the acquisition of worldwide exclusive rights to Enleofen’s preclinical interleukin-11 (IL-11) platform by Boehringer Ingelheim to develop first-in-class therapies across a broad range of fibro-inflammatory diseases. The new partnership combines Boehringer Ingelheim’s leading expertise and comprehensive pipeline in fibrotic diseases with Enleofen’s world-leading expertise in IL-11 biology and the company’s extensive range of therapeutic antibodies targeting this pathway.
“The impressive preclinical studies at Enleofen have revealed the potential of IL-11 blockade to treat a broad range of diseases,” said Clive R. Wood, Ph.D., Corporate Senior Vice President and Global Head of Discovery Research at Boehringer Ingelheim. “We are excited to have these monoclonal antibodies in our pipeline and have the opportunity to accelerate their path to many patients whose needs are not met by current treatments.”
IL-11 is a cytokine, a protein certain cells of the body use to communicate, and plays a key role in fibro-inflammatory conditions. Blocking IL-11 action has been shown to inhibit disease across many organs (liver, lung, kidney, retina, bowel, heart and skin). In preclinical studies, antibody-based IL-11 antagonists were able to prevent and reverse inflammation and fibrosis, and restore organ function.
Enleofen is a spin out company from the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) at SingHealth and Duke-NUS Medical School under the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre (AMC), Singapore and exclusively licensed a suite of patents and number of antibody products when it was founded in 2017, from the AMC. Subsequent to this, Enleofen has built an extensive anti-IL-11 antibody platform and advanced its drug development programs towards the clinic. Boehringer Ingelheim will now develop this platform further and plans to work jointly with scientists at the AMC to accelerate the platform into clinical development. The initial focus will be on novel therapies for patients with NASH and ILDs, two of Boehringer Ingelheim’s core disease focus areas, with a potential to expand into further fibro-inflammatory conditions based on IL-11’s central role in disease.
“Enleofen is very excited to engage Boehringer Ingelheim, a leader in anti-fibrotic therapy R&D to develop further anti-IL-11 therapies to begin to address the unmet medical needs of patients worldwide,” said Prof Stuart Cook, Director and co-founder of Enleofen. “The preclinical data across a range of conditions are unprecedented and this new approach of targeting IL-11 could be a game changer”.
The acquisition of the IL-11 program from Enleofen strengthens Boehringer Ingelheim’s pipeline portfolio, which combines approaches that are effective across multiple fibrotic diseases with disease-specific approaches to achieve greater therapeutic effect and builds on the experience gained with nintedanib in fibrotic lung diseases. Boehringer Ingelheim will be solely responsible for the clinical, regulatory and commercial development of the licensed therapies. Under the terms of the agreement, Enleofen may receive earn out payments in excess of one billion USD per product in upfront and success-based development and commercialization milestones.
For references and notes to editors, please visit:
http://www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/press-release/fibrotic-diseases-partnership-enleofen
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/20200109005346/en/
Contact information
Boehringer Ingelheim
Dr. Reinhard Malin
Head of Communications Innovation Unit
Boehringer Ingelheim Corporate Center GmbH
Media + PR
P: +49 6132 77-90815
reinhard.malin@boehringer-ingelheim.com
Linda Ruckel
Associate Director, Media and Corporate Reputation
Boehringer Ingelheim U.S.
Media + PR
P: + 203-791-6672
linda.ruckel@boehringer-ingelheim.com
Enleofen
Charu Srivastava
charu@redhill.asia
+65 91810614
Mariyam Haider
mariyam@redhill.asia
+65 86056752
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
Phenom Adds Major Headline Speakers as IAMPHENOM Europe Approaches Sold-Out Status6.10.2026 16:30:00 EEST | Press release
Phenom, the leader in applied AI built to redesign work operations for hiring faster, developing better and retaining longer, today announced the newest wave of speakers for IAMPHENOM Europe 2026, the only applied AI event dedicated to human resources taking place on 4-5 November in Paris, France. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261006714151/en/ Phenom announced the newest wave of speakers for IAMPHENOM Europe 2026, the only applied AI event dedicated to human resources taking place on 4-5 November in Paris, France. The two-day conference gives attendees what other HR events can’t: an inside look at AI agents already in production, automated workflows tailored to specific business contexts and the dramatic results they are already delivering. Across keynotes, customer sessions, hands-on experiences and peer networking with the continent’s top CHROs and HRIT decision-makers, guests can participate in discussion
European Firms Struggle to Keep Pace with Growing DSAR Demands, New Reveal Study Finds6.10.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
New research published today byReveal, the provider of integrated AI-native platforms spanning the dispute resolution lifecycle, found that large European organisations complete fewer than half of data subject access requests (DSARs) within the one-month deadline required under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a shortfall the study ties directly to a near-universal absence of purpose-built technology. Nearly nine in 10 organisations still run DSARs on manual or general-purpose workflows, with no dedicated tooling in place. The report, based on a survey of 213 legal and privacy professionals at large European enterprises, is the first of its kind to benchmark how organisations across the region are managing DSAR compliance at scale. The findings expose structural inconsistencies between how organisations perceive their DSAR processes and how those processes perform. Ninety percent of respondents said they are confident their process would withstand scrutiny from an Informa
Rochester Electronics Launches Localized E-Commerce Experiences Across Key Global Markets6.10.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Rochester Electronics today announced the launch of fully enabled e-commerce capabilities across its regional websites, allowing customers in key global markets to search for, source, and purchase authorized semiconductors in their local language. While Rochester's regional sites previously offered localized content and product information, they now support a complete end-to-end purchasing experience. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261006914131/en/ Rochester Electronics Launches Localized E-Commerce Experiences Across Key Global Markets The newly upgraded platforms are now live in Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Mexico), French, German, Italian, and Polish, complementing Rochester’s existing full e-commerce platforms in English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean (South Korea). Customers can now complete transactions directly through their local sites, simplifying sourcing, improving efficiency, and reducing process
Xsolla Shows Brand Owners How to Create Value for Video Players at Brand Licensing Europe With Rewarded Marketing6.10.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Xsolla, a global commerce company, today announced it will be at Brand Licensing Europe 2026 at ExCeL London, October 6 to 8, to show brand owners how to engage with video game players by creating quest-based programs and value new users actually value. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261006443167/en/ Graphic: Xsolla Video games are one of the largest categories of entertainment spending in the world, yet most brands still treat the category as an experiment: a one-off promotional stunt or a single media buy, not a lasting engagement program. The traditional formats brands default to were never built for players. Interstitial pop-ups disrupt gameplay, banner ads go unnoticed, and in-game activations remain cumbersome and expensive to execute. The idea is already proven in games, where players have purchased, collected, and valued digital items for years. The relationship between players and games is built on t
New Global Survey Finds Majority of VMware Users Are Choosing Alternative Paths for Cost Control, Roadmap Flexibility and Better Support6.10.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Rimini Street, Inc. (Nasdaq: RMNI), the Software Support and Agentic AI ERP Company™ and the leading third-party support provider for Oracle, SAP and VMware software, today announced findings from the 2026 IT Virtualization Survey – What’s Next for VMware Users, a new global survey of nearly 300 VMware user organizations conducted by Unisphere Research on behalf of Rimini Street. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261006014490/en/ New Global Survey Finds Majority of VMware Users Are Choosing Alternative Paths for Cost Control, Roadmap Flexibility and Better Support Cost Cited as the Number One Factor in Seeking Alternative VMware Solutions Key Findings: 90% of respondents said they are considering alternatives to VMware due to higher licensing costs, while 54% cited the end of perpetual license support as another reason to evaluate other options. The research shows that cost remains the leading driver of virtuali
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