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
Darktrace Selects Navan to Modernise Travel Program25.2.2026 11:00:00 EET | Press release
Navan (NASDAQ: NAVN), the global AI-powered business travel and expense platform, today announced it has been selected by Darktrace, a global leader in AI for cybersecurity, to upgrade its global travel program. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260225522665/en/ Darktrace Selects Navan to Modernise Travel Program “As Darktrace accelerates its expansion, in-person collaboration is critical,” said David Smith, Chief People Officer at Darktrace. “Navan’s inventory and user experience will ensure our teams and customers can easily connect, while we can maintain financial control.” As the UK-based cybersecurity company grows, Darktrace sought a partner to consolidate its travel operations, minimize administrative burden, and improve the booking experience for its workforce. Previously hampered by fragmented processes, Darktrace required a solution that would increase platform adoption and empower its employees to tra
Zuper and Vonage Reimagine Network Connectivity for Skilled Trades with Quality on Demand25.2.2026 10:00:00 EET | Press release
Zuper, the AI operating system for the trades, and Vonage, part of Ericsson, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enter into a collaboration to integrate Vonage’s network APIs into the Zuper platform. The collaboration will provide Zuper with early access to Vonage network powered solutions, starting with Quality on Demand (QoD), where mobile network performance can be selectively applied to support critical field workflows, delivering improved latency, reliability, and connected experiences for mobile workforces. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260225852261/en/ QoD is the first advanced network API being integrated¹ and represents one component of a larger vision for mobile networks as a platform that aligns network behaviour with application intent as these capabilities continue to be exposed. The ambition is to provide Zuper with programmable mobile network capabilities, powered by Vonag
AI: The New Insider Threat Facing Organizations25.2.2026 10:00:00 EET | Press release
According to the Thales 2026 Data Threat Report, organizations across various markets including automotive, energy, finance and retail say the rapid pace of AI-driven transformation is now their biggest security challenge. Based on the report’s research, conducted by S&P Global 451 Research, 61% cite AI as their top data security risk. The concern is not only about malicious AI, but about the access it is being granted as it shifts from a tool to a trusted insider. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260225599723/en/ ©Thales As enterprises embed AI into workflows, analytics, customer service, and development pipelines, these systems are being granted broad, automated access to enterprise data, often with fewer controls than those applied to human users in a corporate environment. “Insider risk is no longer just about people. It is also about automated systems that have been trusted too quickly,” says Sebastien Can
Industrial Decarbonization: Calderion, WenCo and Terravent Invest in Graforce to Scale Plasma Pyrolysis Globally25.2.2026 09:07:00 EET | Press release
The investor consortium comprising the Paris-based Next Generation Fuels Industrial & Technological fund Calderion (Audacia), alongside infrastructure developer Terravent and WenCo Family Office, announces the closing of a strategic double-digit million-euro financing round for Berlin-based Graforce GmbH. The investment is dedicated to the industrial scale-up of Graforce’s proprietary plasma pyrolysis technology, addressing the growing global demand for cost-efficient low-carbon hydrogen, syngas, and carbon removal solutions that are compatible with existing industrial infrastructures. Disruptive alternative to conventional processes Graforce’s technology aims at replacing CO₂-intensive legacy routes such as steam reforming and classical gasification. By applying plasma to methane, biogas, flare gas, and landfill gas, the process converts these streams into their valuable molecular components instead of emitting them. The result is a high-efficiency production of clean hydrogen and syn
Mevion Medical Systems Announces CE Marking of the MEVION S250-FIT™ Proton Therapy System, Expanding Global Access to Compact Proton Therapy25.2.2026 09:00:00 EET | Press release
Mevion Medical Systems, the global leader in compact proton therapy, today announced that the MEVION S250-FIT Proton Therapy System has successfully completed the conformity assessment process and has received CE Marking under Regulation (EU) 2017/745 (EU MDR). This regulatory milestone enables the marketing, sale, and clinical use of the MEVION S250-FIT system throughout the European Union, building on the system’s existing U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance granted in September 2025. The MEVION S250-FIT is the first and only proton therapy system designed to fit into a standard radiation therapy vault. By enabling cancer centers to use their existing infrastructure, the MEVION S250-FIT dramatically reduces the cost, complexity, and timeline traditionally associated with proton therapy adoption. This opens a new pathway for hospitals and cancer centers across Europe to bring advanced proton treatment to their patients. “With both FDA clearance and CE Marking now in hand, the MEVION S250-FIT is
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