R&D Partnership Initiated to Reduce Development Time for New Drugs

By developing customized contrast agents for research in both basic and preclinical studies, nanoPET Pharma will contribute to the enhancement of Boehringer Ingelheim’s imaging diagnostics. The first joint projects have already begun and many more are being planned.


After several years of close collaboration between Boehringer Ingelheim and nanoPET Pharma, there now exists a framework contract between the two companies. This contract has a long-term perspective and will include various joint projects. “This cooperation model is based on a true partnership,” explained Dr. Andreas Briel, CEO of nanoPET Pharma. “Research, development, and marketing of therapeutic substances will be led by Boehringer Ingelheim; preclinical diagnostics will be managed by nanoPET. This ensures that the business fields remain strictly separate and that both partners benefit.”

The aim of the projects is to support Boehringer Ingelheim in the early identification of suitable drug candidates, to accelerate the process and, at the same time, to lessen the preclinical phase through the use of optimized imaging technology. Customized contrast agents enable the implementation of high-resolution in vivo monitoring techniques with resolutions down to the micrometer range in preclinical studies. Of importance to note is that such methods also enable a reduction in the number of laboratory animals. Of course, during the past several years, regulatory authorities constantly demand proof of the use of sophisticated imaging modalities in drug development, during the preparation of approval documentation.

Dr. Andreas Briel concluded, “We provide what any pharmaceutical development company needs during the preclinical phase: a clear and significant image which protects the living organism. Our services support the 3R-concept of “replace, reduce, and refine.”

Within this collaboration, nanoPET Pharma scientists will also study, in the medium-term, opportunities for the implementation of imaging methods as companion diagnostics in human medicine.

nanoPET Pharma explores and develops various diagnostic imaging agents. A section of the company’s core business is the proprietary product line with 21 substances, which are applied in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), optical imaging, and ultrasound in preclinical research worldwide. Furthermore, nanoPET Pharma develops specialized contrast agents for implementation in pharmaceutical research. Moreover, nanoPET focusses on positron-emitting inorganic nanoparticles for molecular and cell-specific positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, a diagnostic tool that allows imaging of the human body. The market potential of this technology is estimated at several hundred million Euros.

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