Boehringer Ingelheim, a global leader in biopharmaceutical contract development and manufacture, and VTU Technology, a leading supplier of exclusive technologies and comprehensive services for the development of high-performance Pichia pastoris protein expression strains, announced that they have entered into a global technology and marketing collaboration agreement.

Under the terms of the non-exclusive agreement, Boehringer Ingelheim will have access to VTU Technology’s ready-to-use high expression Pichia system in close collaboration with the VTU team for the development and manufacture of therapeutic proteins.

"With a reputation for outstanding innovation, VTU Technology is well positioned to play an important role as a partner in our collaboration," said Professor Dr Rolf G. Werner, senior vice president of Boehringer Ingelheim's Biopharmaceuticals Division. "This collaboration will bring a proven high-expression Pichia technology offering us great value and further flexibility in our contract manufacturing business, while complementing our existing scaffold technology platforms. We believe this collaboration will benefit both our partners and our customers. We look forward to working with the VTU Technology team."

The collaboration agreement is set up to provide the partners' customers with a broader range of contract services. The integrated concept offers customers access to Boehringer Ingelheim's clinical and commercial manufacturing technology along with VTU Technology's proven competence in high-expression technologies and speed in strain development. Compatible technology platforms at VTU Technology and Boehringer Ingelheim allow for a flexible approach and will facilitate smooth technology transfers throughout the development phases.

“We are very proud to have established this agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim,” said Dr Michael Koncar, founder and CEO of VTU Technology. “This collaboration represents an important element of VTU Technology’s strategy while reflecting the potential and attractiveness of our expression technology for efficient manufacture of biopharmaceuticals.” Michael Koncar added “Our proven ready-to-use high expression Pichia system will be still available directly from VTU for clients worldwide. But we are convinced that through this new Marketing and Technology alliance both companies can look forward to a continued growth of their customer base and in-house contract development business. ”

The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world’s 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 142 affiliates in 50 countries and more than 41,500 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed for 125 years to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel products of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.

VTU Technology is a contract research and development company providing fast-track generation of high-performance industrial protein expression strains for biopharmaceuticals and other protein manufacturers. VTU applies its exclusive cutting-edge Pichia  pastoris protein production platform and offers expertise and services, which span the entire range from gene or sequence to highly productive expression strains and target protein, in minimum time.