Boehringer Ingelheim has decided to end its collaboration with OSE Immunotherapeutics on a metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) program after a Phase 2 study did not meet its main goal. OSE announced the decision on Monday, stating that the trial "did not demonstrate efficacy to support further development in this indication." The company did not provide specific results from the study.
The partnership between Boehringer and OSE began in April 2018, when Boehringer paid €15 million ($17.5 million) upfront, with additional near-term commitments and potential milestone payments totaling up to €1.1 billion ($1.28 billion). The agreement was expanded in May 2024 to include the MASH candidate BI 770371.
It is uncertain whether other aspects of the alliance will continue. According to OSE’s website, BI 770371 remains its only asset partnered with Boehringer Ingelheim.
OSE stated that discontinuing the MASH program will not affect BI 770371’s ongoing cancer research, where it is being studied for a different mechanism of action. The company noted that several early-stage oncology studies involving BI 770371 are "progressing as planned."
Following Boehringer’s withdrawal from the MASH project, OSE announced a strategic restructuring initiative. As part of this move, OSE will suspend development of its investigational antibody OSE-230 for chronic and severe inflammation. This decision is intended to allow more resources for "late-stage, high-potential assets," according to the company.
OSE plans to focus on advancing lusvertikimab, a CD127 blocker that recently completed Phase 2 trials for moderate to active ulcerative colitis. The company aims to develop a subcutaneous version of lusvertikimab by the first half of 2027 and may begin a Phase 2b/3 trial in ulcerative colitis later that year. Lusvertikimab will also be developed for chronic pouchitis and hidradenitis suppurativa, with initial Phase 2 data expected in 2028.
OSE-230, which has been deprioritized, is partnered with AbbVie. The two companies started their partnership in February 2025 when AbbVie paid $48 million upfront for exclusive rights to develop and commercialize OSE-230. However, in December 2025 AbbVie changed the agreement so that OSE would take over preclinical and Phase 1 development responsibilities for ABBV-230. AbbVie still retains rights over future clinical studies while OSE now manages early-stage development.
