Zeiss and Boehringer Ingelheim announce partnership on eye diseases

Zeiss Medical Technology and Boehringer Ingelheim have announced a long-term strategic collaboration to develop predictive analytics to enable early detection of eye diseases and more personalised treatments to prevent vision loss for people with serious eye diseases. 

The partnership brings together their expertise in ophthalmological technology, data analytics, algorithms, and the development of treatments to detect early and treat retinal diseases before irreversible vision loss occurs.

The new partnership will focus on identifying markers of early stages of retinal diseases by using ZEISS Medical Technology's cloud-connected devices and AI-assisted analysis of massive image data sets. This will provide a basis for clinical studies for development of more personalised and precise treatments of early stages of chronic retinal disease as well as earlier detection and prediction capabilities to preserve vision through new treatment pathways.

Euan S. Thomson, Ph.D., head of the ophthalmology strategic business unit and head of the digital business unit for ZEISS Medical Technology, said: "At ZEISS, we have long understood that where collaboration thrives, innovation emerges. With our announcement today with Boehringer Ingelheim, we're building on our strategy to innovate through partnerships in order to make breakthrough discoveries to combat vision loss and improve people's lives. Enabled by our ZEISS Medical Ecosystem and the platform's ability to aggregate massive data sets for analysis, we're strongly positioned to establish new partnerships in pursuit of research yet to be investigated, to accelerate access to future technologies and markets, and to help clinicians provide earlier detection and more personalised and precise care for their patients."

Ulrike Graefe-Mody, Ph.D., head of retinal health at Boehringer Ingelheim, added: "Our partnership with ZEISS Medical Technology will allow us to develop precision therapies delivering the right treatment for the right patient at the right time to prevent vision loss by intervening before irreversible damage occurs. It is part of our commitment to champion early detection and treatment and will contribute to transforming the lives of people with serious eye disease.”