Vicadrostat

A new deal between Boehringer Ingelheim and Rectify Pharmaceuticals features an undisclosed mix of an upfront fee and milestones. \n Boehringer Ingelheim has opened another front in its attack on chronic kidney disease (CKD), offering Rectify Pharmaceuticals up to $448 million to partner on a preclinical program. The alliance positions Boehringer to work with Rectify on small molecules that enhance ABCC6 protein function. Research suggests variants in ABCC6, a transporter protein gene, are implicated in the vascular calcification seen in some CKD patients. Calcification is linked to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and is seen in 80% of patients with end-stage kidney disease.Rectify identified the target as a good fit for its platform, which it built to address membrane protein dysfunction. The biotech’s pipeline features an ABCC6 program that is moving from candidate selection to IND-enabling studies. Rectify lists CKD and aortic valve stenosis as indications for the program.Boehringer has bet up to $448 million on Rectify’s ABCC6 work. The deal features an undisclosed mix of an upfront fee and preclinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones. Typically, most of the value of such early-stage agreements is tied to later-phase development and commercialization. The deal also includes tiered royalties on future product sales. Søren Tullin, global head of cardiovascular-renal-metabolic diseases research at Boehringer, said in a statement that Rectify’s platform “offers a differentiated approach to developing disease-modifying treatments that target fundamental drivers of cardiorenal dysfunction.” Tullin added that enhancing ABCC6 function opens new possibilities in CKD and other diseases where calcification is a key pathology.The program strengthens Boehringer’s R&D activities in an important therapeutic area for the company. Jardiance, which Boehringer co-markets with Eli Lilly, won approval in CKD in 2023. Boehringer is also active in CKD drug development, with a study of the aldosterone synthase inhibitor vicadrostat among its roster of phase 3 trials. The drugmaker began enrolling the first of a planned 11,000 patients last year.Rectify launched in 2021 with $100 million. Backed by investors including Atlas Venture, the company set out to target a family of ABC transporters that previously had only played a role in the treatment of cystic fibrosis.  

Set to slash the US list price of its top-selling drug in just a few days, Boehringer Ingelheim has inked an early-stage deal to pad its pipeline with chronic kidney disease (CKD) candidates.The German drugmaker on Monday tapped Rectify Pharmaceuticals and its Positive Functional Modulator (PFM) platform to develop oral small molecules for CKD. Under the research and licensing agreement, the biotech will pocket an undisclosed upfront payment and be eligible for up to $448 million in preclinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones, plus tiered royalties. Rectify's PFMs are designed to restore and boost the function of membrane-bound proteins. For CKD, the company is aiming to reduce calcification — a key disease driver of cardiorenal dysfunction — by enhancing the function of ABCC6, a protein that regulates systemic anti-calcification mechanisms via inorganic pyrophosphate.According to Rectify, its PFMs could help treat the calcification that occurs in CKD, as well as in other diseases like pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) and generalised arterial calcification of infancy (GACI). "Rectify’s PFM platform offers a differentiated approach to developing disease-modifying treatments that target fundamental drivers of cardiorenal dysfunction," said Søren Tullin, Boehringer's global head of cardiovascular-renal-metabolic diseases research. "The ability to enhance ABCC6 function and reduce calcification opens new possibilities for patients with CKD and other diseases where calcification is a key pathology."Boehringer's CKD blockbuster Jardiance (empagliflozin) — which it also co-markets for heart disease and diabetes with Eli Lilly — will face new US pricing controls at the start of 2026, set to take its monthly list price down from about $630 to $197.The pharma is also testing whether adding aldosterone synthase inhibitor vicadrostat (BI 690517) on top of Jardiance in the Phase III EASi-KIDNEY trial can further benefit patients with CKD.