Boehringer Ingelheim and Peking University Forge Strategic Alliance to Advance Early-Stage Biomedical Innovation
One is a pharmaceutical giant with over 130 years of history, ranked among the top 20 globally; the other is a world-leading life sciences research institution. This long-term collaboration aims to leverage emerging medical discoveries to address unmet medical needs, such as cardiometabolic diseases and tumor immunology, as well as novel therapeutic approaches including regenerative medicine and gene therapy.
On May 16, 2017, global pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim and Peking University announced an ambitious strategic collaboration aimed at jointly advancing early-stage scientific innovation to address unmet medical needs across multiple therapeutic areas.
Over the past 130-plus years, Boehringer Ingelheim has been committed to research and development-driven innovation, delivering novel medicines for both humans and animals. The company remains a family-owned enterprise, with operations spanning three core sectors: human pharmaceuticals, animal health, and biopharmaceuticals. In 2016, Boehringer Ingelheim reported net sales of approximately €15.9 billion. Its R&D expenditure exceeded €3 billion, accounting for 19.6% of net sales.
To attract more research groups to join the collaboration, this strategic partnership will encompass a variety of cooperative models. These include joint research based on specific scientific projects, postdoctoral fellowships, and Boehringer Ingelheim Chair Professorships. The collaboration aims to strengthen Boehringer Ingelheim’s early-stage research pipeline, help the company remain at the forefront of technological innovation, bring more first-in-class new drugs with breakthrough potential, and elevate Boehringer Ingelheim’s R&D activities in Asia to a new level.
The research team at Peking University will collaborate closely with internal researchers at Boehringer Ingelheim, leveraging its innovative research and methodologies in frontier scientific fields, as well as Boehringer Ingelheim’s expertise in pharmaceutical R&D, to identify innovative targets and drugs in core therapeutic areas including oncology, tumor immunology, respiratory diseases, cardiometabolic disorders, and central nervous system diseases.
This collaboration spans multiple fields, including research on cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (such as metabolic disorders), tumor immunity and immunomodulation, regenerative medicine, gene therapy, and the development of novel chemical drug entities.
Dr. Clive R. Wood, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Early Research at Boehringer Ingelheim
“We are honored to engage in comprehensive collaboration with scientists at the forefront of biomedical research. Life sciences research in China is currently experiencing robust growth, and we believe that through partnerships with leading international research institutions, we can make meaningful contributions to the field,” said Dr. Clive R. Wood, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Early Research at Boehringer Ingelheim. “Moreover, this flexible collaboration model facilitates closer cooperation between scientists and researchers, empowering them to fully leverage their expertise and jointly advance promising early-stage biomedical research.”
Today, Asia—particularly China—has earned a distinguished reputation in the biomedical field, which Boehringer Ingelheim views as opening up new opportunities for collaborative pharmaceutical innovation. In the coming years, the company will expand its partnerships in China. In addition to Peking University, Boehringer Ingelheim will collaborate with the Institute of Life Sciences at Southeast University to develop novel therapeutics for hearing impairment based on inner-ear stem cell-mediated hair cell regeneration.
Professor Wang Jie, Vice President of Peking University
Professor Wang Jie, Vice President of Peking University, stated, “This new collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim reflects our shared commitment to excellence in innovation and provides innovative solutions to bridge the gap between basic science and medical advancement. By partnering with Boehringer Ingelheim, we aim to benefit patients in China and around the world.”
“We believe that China has demonstrated tremendous potential in pharmaceutical R&D and target discovery. These new targets will not only benefit Chinese patients and the healthcare system, but also exert a global impact by accelerating the launch of solutions to address unmet medical needs worldwide,” said Ms. Liu Lei, Head of Business Development at Boehringer Ingelheim China.
In addition, on this day, Boehringer Ingelheim announced the official inauguration of its China Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing Site, which had been under construction for four years. This facility is the first and only biopharmaceutical manufacturing site with international standards established in China by a multinational pharmaceutical company, marking a significant milestone in Boehringer Ingelheim’s global strategic layout for its biopharmaceutical business. The initial phase of investment exceeded €70 million. As one of the first pilot enterprises selected to conduct contract manufacturing organization (CMO) services for biopharmaceuticals in China, Boehringer Ingelheim will provide comprehensive services—from process development to clinical trials and commercial product supply—to customers in China and around the world from its Shanghai base.