Boehringer Ingelheim and DxS : agreement for a companion diagnostic to identify EGFR mutations in patients with lung cancer

29 May 2009 - DxS, a personalised medicine company, and Boehringer Ingelheim, a global group of pharmaceutical companies, headquartered in Germany, have entered into an agreement to provide a companion diagnostic test kit for Boehringer Ingelheim’s compound BIBW 2992 (Tovok™) to identify mutations of the EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) in patients with non small cell lung cancer. Financial terms of the agreement are not disclosed.

Clinical data published to date suggest that BIBW 2992 offers a marked increase in efficacy in comparison to standard treatments, for lung cancer patients carrying mutations in the EGFR gene. Under the terms of the agreement, DxS and Boehringer Ingelheim will work jointly to make a suitable companion diagnostic test kit globally available...

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About Boehringer Ingelheim
The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world’s 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 138 affiliates in 47 countries and 41,300 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the independent, family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel products of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.

In 2008, Boehringer Ingelheim posted net sales of 11.6 billion euro while spending one fifth of net sales in its largest business segment Prescription Medicines on research and development.



About DxS
DxS is a personalised medicine company providing molecular diagnostics to aid doctors and drug companies in selecting therapies for patients. Working in partnership with pharmaceutical companies to support the development and sales of targeted cancer therapies by providing biomarkers and companion diagnostics... Boehringer Ingelheim's Press Release - DxS' Press Release -

Boehringer Ingelheim & Pfizer : Established Safety Profile of Spiriva Confirmed by 30 Rigorously Controlled Clinical Trials & the Landmark Trial UPLIF

23 September 2008 - Boehringer Ingelheim and Pfizer have released a new analysis of 30 rigorously controlled clinical trials confirming the long term safety profile of Spiriva^® (tiotropium). The new and expanded safety data contradicts the conclusions about tiotropium in an article by Singh et al. published in the 24 September issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.¹ Both companies considered it important to release these data to ensure doctors have the most comprehensive, up-to-date safety information on tiotropium in order to make the best treatment decisions for their patients.



Because COPD patients (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) have in general a higher cardiovascular risk than the average population,² cardiovascular safety in a COPD medication is of critical importance. Therefore Boehringer Ingelheim has put special emphasis on the broad investigation of Spiriva^® including its cardiovascular safety... Boehringer Ingelheim's Press Release - Pfizer's Press Release -

Boehringer Ingelheim : to acquire Actimis Pharmaceuticals

17 June 2008 - Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH announced an agreement to acquire Actimis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately owned biotech company based in San Diego. The acquisition will occur through a structured buyout in which Boehringer Ingelheim will acquire shares of Actimis depending on the achievement of several successive milestones with Actimis’ leading asthma compound AP768. If AP768, currently in phase I clinical development, is successfully advanced into a phase III, Boehringer Ingelheim will own 100% of Actimis’ shares.

Upon successful completion of the entire development programme, the total deal will be worth US$ 515 million. Further financial details were not disclosed... Boehringer Ingelheim's Press Release -

Boehringer Ingelheim : Data suggests promising overall survival and progression-free survival with Vargatef (BIBF 1120)

25 April 2008 - Latest phase II data for Boehringer Ingelheim’s new cancer drug in development presented- Monotherapy treatment with the triple angiokinase inhibitor¹ BIBF 1120 (planned tradename Vargatef ™) offers promising efficacy and is well tolerated in patients with advanced, relapsed non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to results from a phase II study in patients with lung cancer². Of particular note were results from a subset of 57 patients with ‘good disease state’ (ECOG performance status^* of 0 or 1): these patients experienced longer overall survival (median overall survival was 9.5 months), longer progression-free survival (PFS; median PFS was 2.9 months) and a higher stable disease rate of 59% compared with the overall study population. The results were presented today by Dr Joachim von Pawel from Asklepios Fachkliniken München-Gauting, Germany, at the 1st European Lung Cancer Conference jointly organized by IASLC and ESMO in Geneva, Switzerland... Boehringer Ingelheim's Press Release -

Boehringer Ingelheim’s BIBW 2992 for the treatment of late stage non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

14 February 2008 – Boehringer Ingelheim’s investigational cancer treatment BIBW 2992 has recently received a Fast Track Designation status by the FDA. Under this designation, Boehringer Ingelheim will conduct a pivotal trial programme studying BIBW 2992 in a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patient group where prior treatment with reversible EGFR inhibitors has failed.
The FDA`s Fast Track Programme will facilitate the development programme and expedite the review of new treatments that demonstrate the potential to address an unmet medical need in serious or life-threatening diseases... Boehringer Ingelheim’s Press Release -