Research collaboration covers multiple antibody research programs

Twist Bioscience Corporation, a company enabling customers to succeed through its offering of high-quality synthetic DNA using its silicon platform, have announced a broad-based research collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH to use Twist’s proprietary antibody libraries to discover therapeutic antibodies against multiple targets provided by Boehringer Ingelheim.

“Boehringer Ingelheim believes Twist’s ability to generate potent, diverse therapeutic antibodies by mining its comprehensive libraries, combined with our extensive capabilities and experience  in drug discovery and development, will enable us to deliver breakthrough opportunities to patients,” said Clive R. Wood, Ph.D., Senior Corporate Vice President and Global Head of Discovery Research at Boehringer Ingelheim. “We look forward to working with Twist on molecular targets in a broad range of disease areas,” added Wood.  
 
Under the terms of the agreement, Twist Biopharma, a division of Twist, will utilize its “Library of Libraries,” a panel of synthetic antibody phage display libraries derived only from sequences that exist in the human body, to identify potential therapeutic antibody candidates. Twist and Boehringer Ingelheim will work together to validate and optimize any resulting new antibody candidates, which could be researched against a range of therapeutic areas. Boehringer Ingelheim retains exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize any therapeutic antibodies discovered as part of the collaboration. 

Twist will receive an upfront payment for each program entry.  In addition, Twist has the potential to earn up to a total of $710 million in success-based clinical, regulatory and commercial milestone payments for the multiple target discovery programs.

“This discovery collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim covering numerous targets truly illustrates the power of our antibody libraries. We have the ability to generate precise antibodies to a diverse range of targets, which together with Boehringer Ingelheim’s strength in drug development capabilities, could mean multiple new more personalized treatments in the future for patients,” said Emily M. Leproust, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Twist.

About Twist Biopharma

By leveraging our unique ability to manufacture DNA at scale, we can construct proprietary antibody libraries precisely designed to match sequences that occur in the human body. This library of libraries gives our partners an integral and unbiased resource for antibody therapeutic discovery and optimization. This precise and rational approach to library fabrication combined with sophisticated bioinformatics and software expertise expedites antibody discovery by decreasing risk, increasing speed, and lowering the failure rate for antibody therapeutic development.

About Twist Bioscience Corporation

Twist Bioscience is a leading and rapidly growing synthetic biology and genomics company that has developed a disruptive DNA synthesis platform to industrialize the engineering of biology. The core of the platform is a proprietary technology that pioneers a new method of manufacturing synthetic DNA by “writing” DNA on a silicon chip. Twist is leveraging its unique technology to manufacture a broad range of synthetic DNA-based products, including synthetic genes, tools for next-generation sequencing (NGS) preparation, and antibody libraries for drug discovery and development. Twist is also pursuing longer-term opportunities in digital data storage in DNA and biologics drug discovery. Twist makes products for use across many industries including healthcare, industrial chemicals, agriculture and academic research.

About Boehringer Ingelheim

Boehringer Ingelheim is working on breakthrough therapies that improve the lives of humans and animals. As a leading research-driven biopharmaceutical company, the company creates value through innovation in areas of high unmet medical need. Founded in 1885 and family-owned ever since, Boehringer Ingelheim takes a long-term perspective. Around 52,000 employees serve more than 130 markets in the three business areas, Human Pharma, Animal Health, and Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing.