Rectify and Boehringer Ingelheim Collaborate to Advance First-in-class Treatments for Chronic Kidney Disease

• Collaboration aims to accelerate the development of treatments for chronic kidney disease (CKD) and other conditions 
• Rectify has developed oral, small molecules that can potentially reduce calcification by enhancing the activity of the ABCC6 protein, a key disease mechanism in CKD

BOSTON, Mass., Dec. 22, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Rectify Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (“Rectify”) a biotechnology company pioneering positive functional modulators (PFMs) that restore and enhance membrane protein function, has entered a strategic research and licensing agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim to accelerate the development of treatments for chronic kidney disease (CKD) and other conditions.

The collaboration leverages Rectify’s PFM platform to develop oral, small molecules that enhance ABCC6 protein function and reduce calcification, which is a key disease driver of cardiorenal dysfunction in chronic kidney diseases. Under the terms of the agreement, Rectify will receive an upfront payment and has the potential to earn up to $448 million through preclinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones, in addition to tiered royalties on future product sales.

“Rectify’s collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim validates the potential of our PFM platform to enhance wild-type protein function to address underlying disease biology, opening the door to large, common disease opportunities like chronic kidney disease (CKD) that affect millions of people,” said Rajesh Devraj, PhD, Chief Executive Officer and President of Rectify. “We’re delighted to collaborate with Boehringer Ingelheim, who share our commitment to addressing unmet needs in serious diseases with only limited treatment options. Our work together represents an important step forward for Rectify to advance development of novel disease-modifying therapeutics that could fundamentally shift outcomes for patients.”

“Rectify’s PFM platform offers a differentiated approach to developing disease-modifying treatments that target fundamental drivers of cardiorenal dysfunction. The ability to enhance ABCC6 function and reduce calcification opens new possibilities for patients with CKD and other diseases where calcification is a key pathology. We are excited to work with Rectify’s scientists to deliver much-needed new treatments to people living with CKD and other diseases,” said Søren Tullin, Global Head of Cardiovascular-Renal-Metabolic Diseases Research at Boehringer Ingelheim.

Chronic kidney disease affects around 1 in 10 adults worldwide—or approximately 850 million people—and often leads to serious complications such as vascular calcification and increased cardiovascular risk. Together with Rectify, Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to addressing this unmet medical need by advancing innovative approaches that target the root causes of CKD.

ABCC6 is a central regulator of systemic anti-calcification mechanisms via inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi), which inhibits calcification. In CKD, as well as rare genetic disorders like Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) and generalized arterial calcification of infancy (GACI), ABCC6 protein levels drop, leading to low PPi levels, vascular calcification, and increased cardiovascular risk. Rectify’s orally active PFMs have shown the possibility to restore or enhance mutated or wild-type ABCC6 protein function and have the potential to address the pathologic calcification that leads to disease progression in CKD, PXE and GACI.

Aquilo Partners L.P. and WilmerHale acted as financial and legal advisors to Rectify on this transaction, respectively.

About Rectify Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Rectify”) 
Rectify is advancing Positive Functional Modulators (PFMs), a novel class of oral, small molecules that restore and enhance membrane protein function to address the underlying cause of serious diseases. Rectify’s PFMs have potential to modulate the activity of wild-type and mutated membrane-bound proteins, a historically difficult challenge with a small molecule approach. The Company’s breakthrough product platform enables efficient and rapid discovery of first- and best-in-class small molecule therapies with the potential to address membrane protein dysfunction for treatment of rare and common diseases, including liver, cardio-renal-metabolic, and neurodegenerative diseases. Rectify was founded and seeded by Atlas Venture, who led the $100M Series A round and was joined by Forbion, Longwood Fund, and Omega Funds. 

For more information, please visit www.rectifypharma.com or follow us on X and LinkedIn. 

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Kendy Guarinoni, PhD
LifeSci Communications
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