Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on neurological and endocrine diseases and disorders, announced that they have established a worldwide collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim to research and develop small molecule GPR119 agonists for the treatment of type II diabetes and other indications. The companies will work jointly to identify and advance candidates into pre-clinical development. Boehringer Ingelheim is responsible for the global development and commercialization of potential GPR119 agonist products.

Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, Neurocrine Biosciences will receive a $10 million upfront payment, research funding to support discovery efforts and is eligible to receive up to $225 million in milestone payments based on the achievement of development, regulatory and commercial goals as well as royalty payments on any future product sales. Further financial details were not disclosed.

"We are looking forward to working with a high-quality partner who shares our commitment to thorough science and our collaborative culture. We are excited to bring our technology platform 'SiNERG,' a suite of assays and assay systems that address parameters such as residence time, kinetics, allosteric interactions and ligand-biased intracellular signalling pathways, coupled with our integrated chemical synthetic, purification and analytical methodologies to this collaboration," said Dr Dimitri E. Grigoriadis, vice president research at Neurocrine. "Combining Boehringer Ingelheim's research and development expertise in metabolic disorders with Neurocrine's unique capabilities in small molecule discovery for GPCRs provides a strong platform for development of new therapies for type II diabetes."

GPR119 is a G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) that has been implicated as a novel target for the treatment of type II diabetes. The activation of GPR119 receptors located in the digestive system stimulates incretins, resulting in increased insulin production, while activation of GPR119 receptors located on pancreatic islet beta cells also stimulates insulin secretion.