Boehringer Ingelheim buys CD38 drug; Merck bets on machine learning in antibody design

CD38 may be best known as a target for cancer therapies — notably J&J’s Darzalex and Sanofi’s Sarclisa. But Boehringer Ingelheim believes it has potential in immunological and fibrotic diseases, too.

The German pharma giant is acquiring a preclinical CD38 program from Ribon Therapeutics, paying an…