Boehringer Ingelheim, Immunai Ink $15M Collaboration to Analyze T-cells

The initial program will analyze thousands of patient samples to identify mechanisms of T-cell dysfunction shared by cancers and autoimmune diseases.

Boehringer Ingelheim and Immunai have launched a collaboration aimed at identifying novel T-cell targets across immuno-oncology and autoimmune disease.

The program, announced June 25, is valued at up to $15 million and runs through 2027, with the potential to expand based on scientific progress.

Under the collaboration, the two companies will build a shared data foundation spanning cancer and autoimmune disease and apply Immunai’s single-cell AI platform to thousands of patient samples to identify patterns of T-cell dysfunction. Findings will be validated in Immunai’s wet lab and feed into drug discovery and development projects at Boehringer Ingelheim.

T-cell dysfunction is implicated in both cancer and autoimmune conditions, but research in the two areas has largely proceeded independently. The collaboration is designed to surface shared biological mechanisms and therapeutic targets that may not emerge from hypothesis-driven or siloed approaches.

“Cancer immunology and autoimmune diseases both involve T-cell dysfunction, but they have largely been explored separately,” Immunai CEO Noam Solomon said in a statement. “This collaboration brings together large-scale, clinically grounded data, translational science and functional validation to support broad target discovery across both fields. By taking an unbiased approach across thousands of patient samples, we hope to uncover biological insights and therapeutic opportunities that would otherwise remain hidden.”

The deal is the latest in a series of partnerships built around Immunai’s platform. In January, the company announced a collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb to apply its technology across clinical development programs in oncology. In May, Immunai announced a third expansion of its multi-year collaboration with AstraZeneca.