AVEO, Boehringer in Ficlatuzumab Manufacturing Pact

AVEO Pharmaceuticals and Boehringer Ingelheim have entered into an agreement for large-scale process development and clinical manufacturing of ficlatuzumab, AVEO’s HGF inhibitory antibody currently in Phase II development in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Boehringer will produce ficlatuzumab for clinical trials at its biopharmaceutical site in Fremont, CA. AVEO retains all rights to develop and commercialize ficlatuzumab. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“We believe Boehringer Ingelheim is an ideal manufacturing partner based on its expertise in monoclonal antibodies,” said Elan Ezickson, executive vice president and chief business officer at AVEO. “This agreement is further evidence of the progress we are making in the clinical development of ficlatuzumab, and we look forward to working with Boehringer Ingelheim to prepare for the manufacturing activities for ficlatuzumab that would support Phase III and beyond.”

Frank Ternes, senior vice president of the Contract Manufacturing Business Biopharmaceuticals at BI, commented, “We are delighted to be chosen by AVEO as a manufacturing partner for ficlatuzumab and we look forward to leveraging our more than 25 years of expertise in this area to support AVEO in further executing its clinical development strategies for ficlatuzumab. This customer project is an important milestone for our Fremont site and a further confirmation that our expansion into the U.S. is of added value for our customers.”