Saniona AB (STO:SANION), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on rare diseases of the central nervous system, announced on Thursday a new research collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim in schizophrenia.

Under this collaboration, Saniona may receive up to EUR76.5m in milestone payments as well as royalties on worldwide net sales of resulting products.

Reportedly, the objective is to identify new treatment options for schizophrenia, by exploring a novel undisclosed CNS ion channel target using Saniona's ion channel drug discovery platform. Boehringer Ingelheim has exclusive worldwide rights to research, develop, manufacture and commercialise therapeutics identified through the collaboration.

Saniona will receive research funding during the joint research period. During the first year of the collaboration, Saniona expects to receive research funding of around EUR0.45m.

In 2016, Boehringer Ingelheim and Saniona established their first collaboration for development of new therapeutics in schizophrenia, targeting GABA α5 ion channels for treatment of cognitive impairment. This programme is currently in preclinical stage development. The current collaboration is the second such programme.