Oxford’s Ochre Bio signs billion-dollar deal to develop liver disease drugs

Ochre Bio, a pioneer in chronic liver disease medicine development, has begun a multi-year collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim.

Together, the firms will work to discover and develop novel regenerative treatments for chronic liver diseases (CLDs), including late-stage metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) cirrhosis.

Based at Oxford Science Park, Ochre Bio brings to the partnership its proprietary discovery platform, which combines machine learning with human big data.

Boehringer will leverage the platform to develop new treatments, modulating innovative regenerative targets which could enhance the liver’s self-repair capabilities to prevent or reverse disease progression.

The German pharmaceutical has paid Ochre Bio more than £28 million in upfront and near-term research-based milestone payments, rising to upwards of £800 million in payments and royalties if treatments make it through clinical trials.

Quin Wills, co-founder and chief scientific officer at Ochre Bio, said: “Chronic liver disease remains a global killer on the rise and represents a significant unmet medical need for patients.

“We’re delighted to be working with the exceptional scientists at Boehringer Ingelheim, who share our belief that liver regeneration is an underexplored therapeutic goal in patients with liver failure.”

As chronic liver disease progresses, the liver’s natural capacity to regenerate and repair diminishes, which can result in serious complications such as liver failure or liver cancer.

CLD and associated cirrhosis accounts for approximately 1 million deaths a year, and there are currently there are no approved medicines for the disease.

Søren Tullin, senior VP and global head of cardiometabolic diseases research at Boehringer Ingelheim, added: “Our partnership with Ochre Bio is driven by a shared goal to accelerate the development of new treatments for chronic liver diseases including MASH cirrhosis.

“Ochre Bio brings to the table unique and exciting capabilities in liver disease research.

“We believe their application of advanced genomics and machine learning coupled with human-centric translational models holds the potential to uncover novel regenerative pathways that will make a meaningful difference in the lives of those affected by chronic liver disease.”