Boehringer Ingelheim to Acquire Labor Dr. Merk & Kollegen to Strengthen its Next Generation Cancer Immunology Program
Boehringer Ingelheim today announced the execution of the agreement on the acquisition of Labor Dr. Merk & Kollegen. The acquisition will enable Boehringer Ingelheim to further expand and accelerate its comprehensive program for the development of ATMP-based immuno-oncology therapies including the Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) with modified glycoprotein (GP) platform and cancer vaccines platforms. Labor Dr. Merk & Kollegen has outstanding experience in process development, manufacturing and analytical characterization in virology besides expertise in microbiology and cell culture. Labor Dr. Merk & Kollegen has already worked in close collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim on viral-based therapy development since 2015.
“The acquisition of Labor Dr. Merk & Kollegen is strengthening our promising pipeline with diverse potential first-in-class cancer immunology and cancer cell directed therapies for patients with hard-to-treat cancer,” said Dr. Michel Pairet, member of Boehringer Ingelheim’s Board of Managing Directors with responsibility for the company’s Innovation Unit. “The trusting and highly effective collaboration between our scientists and the Labor Dr. Merk & Kollegen team has already contributed significantly to our progress in viral-based cancer therapies. We will welcome the Labor Dr. Merk & Kollegen team and look forward to jointly advancing our program in this area.”
Boehringer Ingelheim is taking cancer on by strengthening its position in cancer immunology, with a focus on cancer vaccines, oncolytic viruses, T-cell engagers, stromal modulators and myeloid cell modulators by combining its world-class, in-house research and development with that of highly innovative external companies. The addition of Labor Dr. Merk & Kollegen’s site will enable Boehringer Ingelheim to further strengthen its oncolytic virus and cancer vaccine development capabilities and capacities by establishing an end-to-end fully integrated center of excellence for virus development and clinical manufacturing. It will add to a series of strategic acquisitions and collaborations over the past years, including the acquisition of ViraTherapeutics and AMAL Therapeutics, which are contributing assets that will be further developed at Labor Dr. Merk & Kollegen’s site.
Labor Dr. Merk & Kollegen is a privately-held company founded in 1971. It is headquartered in Ochsenhausen, Germany, close to Boehringer Ingelheim’s Biberach R&D site. As a center of excellence in virology, Labor Dr. Merk & Kollegen has a long track record in GLP and GMP certified biosafety testing. In recent years Labor Dr. Merk & Kollegen established its GMP-virus manufacturing facility. With around 130 highly qualified and specialized employees, the company has built considerable expertise in process development, manufacturing and analytical characterization of viral therapeutics and oncolytic viral therapeutics. Labor Dr. Merk & Kollegen will be integrated with all employees as a new unit into Boehringer Ingelheim’s Development organization and continue to operate at its Ochsenhausen site. A future expansion is planned.
“Following our successful strategic partnership, we are really excited to join forces with Boehringer Ingelheim,” said Dr. Ingrid Rapp, CEO at Labor Dr. Merk & Kollegen. “Boehringer Ingelheim is a truly global pharmaceutical company with excellent R&D capacities. We look forward to taking our next development step in oncology as part of this outstanding team.”
The companies did not disclose the financial terms of the deal. The transaction is subject to the approval of the competition authorities in Germany. Closing will follow thereafter.
Please click on the following link for ‘Notes to Editors’:
http://www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/press-release/agreement-acquire-labor-dr-merk
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/20201209005383/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
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
Andersen Consulting Adds Collaborating Firm Africa International Advisors20.1.2026 16:30:00 EET | Press release
Andersen Consulting extends its strategy and business transformation capabilities in Africa through a Collaboration Agreement with Africa International Advisors (AIA), a Johannesburg-based firm focusing on enhancing business competitiveness through sector specific insights, innovation and advisory services. Founded in 2002, AIA is a pan-African management consulting firm that delivers strategy-led advisory services with a focus on digital transformation and AI-driven business outcomes. The firm advises clients across sectors including energy and resources, oil and gas, infrastructure, trade and logistics, financial services, banking, and telecom. AIA’s strategic perspective, local credibility, and market access enable it to design and implement solutions that align people, processes, and technology to drive meaningful change. “From the beginning, our mission has been to drive progress through an Africa-centered lens, grounded in the realities and ambitions of the continent,” said Hasna
Balena Secures Strategic Growth Investment to Accelerate Edge AI and IoT Fleet Management20.1.2026 16:14:00 EET | Press release
Balena, the leading platform for deploying, managing, and scaling fleets of edge computing and AI devices, today announced a strategic growth investment from LoneTree Capital (“LoneTree”), a New York-based growth capital firm. The partnership will accelerate Balena’s product innovation with a focus on Edge AI workloads and security features to meet evolving compliance needs, while expanding resources for customer success and global fleet support. Founded in 2011, Balena enables customers to leverage the ever-increasing power of technology to solve real-world problems by providing software to manage the full lifecycle of edge computing devices. The platform abstracts away infrastructure complexity, handling critical tasks like secure Over-The-Air (OTA) updates so engineering teams can focus on their core product. As a truly hardware-agnostic solution, Balena empowers customers to deploy their applications, including intensive Edge AI workloads, on the devices of their choice, avoiding v
SIRBAI Launches Middle East’s First AI-Powered Autonomous Drone Swarm Technology at UMEX 202620.1.2026 16:11:00 EET | Press release
SIRBAI today announced the official launch of the Middle East’s first AI-powered autonomous drone swarm technology at UMEX 2026 - a global exhibition platform for unmanned systems and autonomous capabilities - marking the company’s entry into the defense technology sector. Designed for unmanned aerial systems (UAS), the platform enables multiple drones to operate collaboratively with a high degree of autonomy, even in complex and contested environments. As the first company in the region to offer this advanced capability, SIRBAI is set to redefine the modern battlefield with innovative and scalable autonomous technology, establishing new standards for resilient and operator-friendly mission systems for modern defense operations. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260120186459/en/ SIRBAI Launches Middle East’s First AI-Powered Autonomous Drone Swarm Technology at UMEX 2026 (Photo: AETOSWire) SIRBAI enters the mark
FlightSafety International Receives EASA and UK CAA Certification for Gulfstream G700 Flight Simulator at Farnborough Learning Centre20.1.2026 16:05:00 EET | Press release
FlightSafety International Inc. (FSI), a global leader in aviation training and simulation technology, announced today it has received European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) certification for its Gulfstream G700 Full Flight Simulator (FFS), located at the company’s Farnborough Learning Centre. The certification of the simulator, which was engineered and manufactured by FSI, validates the advanced technology, accuracy, and fidelity of the flight training device, confirming it meets the highest European and UK regulatory standards. The FFS will be leveraged for initial, recurrent, and advanced pilot training to support G700 and Gulfstream G800 aircraft, further expanding global access to high-fidelity training. “The G700 simulator certification in Farnborough reinforces FSI’s long-standing commitment to supporting Gulfstream operators across Europe,” said David Mann, Farnborough Centre Manager, FlightSafety International. “It expands access to
OPEX® and Peltier Partner to Deliver First-of-Its-Kind Cold Storage Solution for Automated Fulfillment Systems20.1.2026 16:00:00 EET | Press release
OPEX® Corporation, a global leader in Next Generation Automation providing innovative solutions for warehouse, document and mail automation, today announced a strategic technology partnership with Peltier, an innovator in cold chain commerce, to offer a first-of-its-kind, multi-temperature zone, multi-deep cold storage solution for automated fulfillment systems. This collaboration introduces advanced multi-temperature capabilities to OPEX Corporation’s industry-leading Perfect Pick® and Infinity® automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), empowering customers in the grocery, pharmaceutical, and life sciences markets to seamlessly store and retrieve chilled and frozen products utilizing Peltier’s actively cooled, AI-enabled totes, eliminating the need for costly freezer chambers or specialized infrastructure. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260120776429/en/ OPEX iBOTs efficiently transport and present Pelt
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