Boehringer Ingelheim on Wednesday said that it purchased privately-held T3 Pharmaceuticals for up to CHF 450 million ($508 million). "The acquisition…will significantly expand our immuno-oncology pipeline portfolio and is synergistic with many of our existing R&D programmes," said Michel Pairet, member of Boehringer Ingelheim's board responsible for the innovation unit.T3 Pharma has developed a therapy platform that uses live engineered Yersinia enterocolitica bacteria to deliver bioactive proteins to cancerous cells and tumour micro-environments, while at the same time sparing healthy tissues. The bacteria can be loaded with multiple immune-modulatory proteins, allowing for the design of immuno-oncology combination therapies in one single agent, according to the German drugmaker.Previous lead investorT3 Pharma, which launched in 2015, closed a CHF 25 million ($28 million) financing in 2020, with Boehringer Ingelheim's Venture Fund co-leading the investment round. The company used the funds to advance its lead candidate, T3P-Y058-739, which was developed using its bacterial delivery platform and is currently in Phase I testing. According to T3 Pharma's website, the technology is built on the discovery that the bacterial type III secretion system can be repurposed to deliver chosen proteins into eukaryotic cells. Its pipeline also includes the preclinical assets T3P-Y098, T3P-1017 and T3P-1127."Despite the significant transformation of the cancer treatment landscape by immunotherapies, long-term remissions only occur in 15% to 20% of cancer patients," said Boehringer Ingelheim. The company is looking to boost that rate via complementary immuno-oncology platforms such as T-cell engagers, oncolytic viruses and cancer vaccines, "which have the potential to turn cold tumours into hot ones, extending the benefits of immunotherapy to more patients," it added.
