By VETTAPHARMA reporter: Simcere Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. (HKEX: 2096) and Boehringer Ingelheim have announced a new license and collaboration agreement to accelerate development of a pre-clinical bispecific antibody treatment aimed at addressing significant unmet needs in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Under the agreement, the companies will jointly develop SIM0709, a long-acting TL1A/IL-23p19 bispecific antibody engineered using Simcere’s proprietary multi-specific antibody platform. The therapeutic candidate is designed to simultaneously block two key disease-driving pathways — tumor necrosis factor ligand family member A (TL1A) and interleukin-23 (IL-23) — that contribute to the onset and progression of IBD. In laboratory and animal studies, SIM0709 showed synergistic efficacy, outperforming individual monotherapies targeting the same pathways.
Approximately over three million people worldwide suffer from IBD, a chronic and progressive condition that often requires frequent hospitalization and surgery. Current treatment options have limited capacity to prevent or reverse disease progression, leaving significant medical needs unmet.
As part of the partnership terms, Boehringer Ingelheim gains global development and commercialization rights to SIM0709 outside of Greater China, while Simcere is eligible to receive upfront payments and success-based development, regulatory, and sales milestone payments totaling up to EUR 1,058 million, along with royalties on net sales outside Greater China.
Senior leaders from both companies highlighted the potential impact of the collaboration. Carine Boustany, US Innovation Unit Site Head and Global Head of Immunology and Respiratory Diseases at Boehringer Ingelheim, emphasized the urgency for more effective IBD treatments, stating that many patients continue to experience severe disease progression despite currently available anti-inflammatory therapies.
Gaobo Zhou, Chief Investment Officer at Simcere Pharmaceutical Group, noted that partnering with Boehringer Ingelheim positions SIM0709 for “rigorous global development” and may improve treatment outcomes for patients worldwide affected by IBD.
According to the announcement, this collaboration marks Simcere’s second out-licensing transaction in the autoimmune field, with a total of five out-licensing deals completed as of January 2026, representing a combined potential value of approximately $4.6 billion from novel drug technologies.
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