23. November 2023 – Boehringer Ingelheim announced the acquisition of privately-held T3 Pharmaceuticals AG (“T3 Pharma”), a clinical stage Swiss biotech company, for an amount of up to 450 million CHF.

T3 Pharma has developed a proprietary therapy platform that uses live bacteria to deliver immune-modulating proteins to cancer cells and tumor micro-environments. Despite the significant transformation of the cancer treatment landscape by immunotherapies, long-term remissions only occur in 15-20% of cancer patients.

Boehringer Ingelheim aims to considerably increase this rate by utilizing complementary immuno-oncology platforms such as T-Cell Engagers (TcEs), oncolytic viruses, and cancer vaccines, which have the potential to turn cold tumors into hot ones, extending the benefits of immunotherapy to more patients in need. T3 Pharma’s pioneering technology will bolster Boehringer Ingelheim’s array of novel immune-modulatory cancer treatments, reinforcing the company's oncology strategy to transform the lives of people affected by cancer.

Walder Wyss advised Boehringer Ingelheim in the transaction. The Walder Wyss team was led by Alexander Gutmans (Partner, Corporate/M&A and Venture Capital) and Lucas Maurer (Associate, Corporate/M&A and Venture Capital), and further included Robert von Rosen (Partner, Corporate/M&A), Janine Corti (Counsel, Tax), Michelle Bruni (Managing Associate, Tax), Natascha Rizzi (Associate, Tax), Benjamin Suter (Counsel, Commercial Contracts), Simon Olstein (Associate, Corporate/M&A and Venture Capital, Commercial Contracts), Christoph Burckhardt (Associate, Corporate/M&A and Venture Capital), Yannick A. Moser (Managing Associate, Employment) and Dario Glauser (Associate, Employment).