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
STOKR Appoints Subhankar Sinha as Senior Advisor23.3.2026 16:00:00 EET | Press release
STOKR has appointed Subhankar Sinha as Senior Advisor. Sinha will work directly with STOKR's leadership team on fund tokenization with particular focus on money market fund (MMF) tokenization and on expanding STOKR's institutional presence in the U.S. market. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260323315236/en/ Image, Subhankar Sinha A New York-based digital assets executive, Sinha brings deep expertise across blockchain infrastructure, capital markets, and institutional business development. He previously served as Head of Blockchain at BNY, the world's largest custody and asset servicing business. Earlier in his career, he was a Director at PwC, where he co-founded and co-led the firm's blockchain consulting practice in the U.S. "Subhankar brings the institutional depth that this stage of STOKR's growth demands," said Arnab Naskar, Co-Founder of STOKR. "His experience leading blockchain at BNY and co-building Pw
Exein Unveils Next-Generation Runtime Security to Protect the AI-Native World23.3.2026 15:00:00 EET | Press release
Exein, the global leader in runtime cybersecurity, today unveiled Photon, a preemptive breakthrough solution that blocks cyberattacks at the point of execution. Designed for the AI-native world - where digital and physical systems are now inseparable - Photon marks a fundamental shift in how critical infrastructure protects itself. Unlike traditional cybersecurity solutions that detect threats after compromise - typically operating in user space and relying on a cloud network - Exein’s Photon operates directly inside the kernel, preventing malicious execution paths before they can run. By blocking attacks before the point of execution, the technology dramatically reduces latency and eliminates entire classes of threats before damage occurs. If malicious instructions cannot execute, the attack itself cannot take place. This advancement establishes a new category of runtime security designed for systems that cannot be disconnected: physical AI and IoT environments, autonomous AI agents,
Xsolla Partners With Cyprus Game Makers Association (CYGMA) as the Island Emerges as a Game Development Hub23.3.2026 15:00:00 EET | Press release
Xsolla, a global video game commerce company that helps developers launch, grow, and monetize their games, today announced a strategic partnership with the Cyprus Game Makers Association (CYGMA). The collaboration will provide creators and studios within the CYGMA network with hands-on support, industry expertise, and access to world-class commerce tools, helping Cyprus-based studios bring their titles to players worldwide. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260323570679/en/ Graphic: Xsolla The partnership comes as Cyprus continues to attract game development talent, fueled by favorable business conditions and a growing creative community. Through its collaboration with CYGMA, Xsolla aims to accelerate momentum and expand opportunities for developers by removing commerce and distribution barriers that often prevent emerging studios from reaching global markets. As part of the agreement, Xsolla will sponsor a seri
Manhattan Associates’ 2026 Unified Commerce Benchmark Reveals the High Price of Standing Still in Retail23.3.2026 14:30:00 EET | Press release
Manhattan Associates Inc. (NASDAQ: MANH), today announced the findings of its 2026 Global Unified Commerce Benchmark for Specialty Retail, the industry’s most comprehensive assessment of how well retailers connect digital and physical experiences to drive growth, profitability and loyalty. Conducted by Incisiv, a leading retail research firm, the Benchmark is based on real-world purchases and returns. It analyzes more than 400 specialty retailers across EMEA, LATAM and North America on 330 capabilities spanning four key experience areas: Shopping, Checkout, Fulfillment, and Service. The 2026 Benchmark reveals that while the industry has made steady progress in unified commerce maturity since 2023 when it was first launched, only 7% of retailers have achieved true unified commerce leadership while 33% are still stuck in the Basic category. Leaders are translating connected, data‑driven yet customer-centric experiences into nearly 2X higher growth rates than their basic peers. The Benchm
Starr Completes Acquisition of IQUW Group23.3.2026 14:00:00 EET | Press release
Starr, a global investment and insurance organization, today announced that it has completed its acquisition of IQUW Group, creating a broader, more diversified specialty (re)insurance platform with enhanced capabilities across the London market, Bermuda and UK retail motor. The combined Starr business now serves more clients and brokers in more specialist classes and market segments globally. With IQUW Group, Starr has strengthened its position in the London market and established its managing agency as the ninth-largest at Lloyd’s. Importantly, Starr will continue to operate with a strong emphasis on underwriting expertise and best-in-class broker and client experience and service. Clients and brokers will benefit from a broader product offering, quick decision-making, greater capital strength and expanded global reach. Starr’s reinsurance capability is also significantly enhanced following this transaction. IQUW Re Bermuda and IQUW’s London reinsurance business will now trade as Sta
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