Daily Management Review

British Immunotherapy Firm Kymab To Be Acquired By Sanofi For Up To $1.5 Billion


01/11/2021




British Immunotherapy Firm Kymab To Be Acquired By Sanofi For Up To $1.5 Billion
In recent times the French drug maker Sanofi has strung a slew of deals as a part of its efforts of diversifying into the fast growing medical area of immunotherapy. In its latest deal in this regards, it has agreed to acquire the British immunotherapy firm Kymab for a value of up to $1.45 billion.
 
According to the deal, Sanofi will pay $1.1 billion upfront to Kymab and the deal will give the French company complete access and rights to own Kymab's KY1005,w which is an antibody therapy developed by the3 British firm which is viewed as having the potential of providing treatment for a wide range of inflammatory disorders and immune-related diseases.
 
KY1005 passed a mid-stage Phase IIa clinical trial in August.
 
Sanofi said on Monday that the total value of the deal could increase by $350 million contingent to the deal reaching certain milestones.
 
There was little change in the shares of the company because of the deal in early trading.
 
This deal marks that latest acquisition for Sanofi.
 
The Dutch biotechnology firm Kiadis, which is a specialist in cell-based immunotherapy products which is used for treatment of cancer, was acquired by Sanofi in November kin a deal worth €308 million (US$376 million).
 
And in August last year the French company has also acquired Principia Biopharma, a United States based autoimmune diseases specialist in a deal worth $3.7 billion. That was preceded by the company making an investment of $2.5 billion for acquiring Synthorx, a immuno-oncology treatments group, in December 2019.
 
Sanofi is a late entrant into the fast growing immunotherapy segment, in the early 2010s, which essentially comprises of drugs and therapies that that activate the immune system of a body which attacks tumour cells.
 
The French drug maker is doing a catch up job and is focused on creating a pipeline of several medicines that the company hopes will help it to get a share of the $100 billion-a-year cancer drug market.
 
KY1044, a cancer treatment currently in Phase I/II clinical developments also included in the development pipeline of Kymab.
 
“The Kymab acquisition adds KY1005 to our dynamic pipeline, a potential first-in-class treatment for a range of immune and inflammatory diseases. The novel mechanism of action may provide treatment for patients with suboptimal responses to available therapies,” said Paul Hudson, Sanofi Chief Executive Officer.
 
“We understand from our ongoing work in debilitating immunological diseases how critical it is to find the right treatment for each patient. We look forward to rapidly developing this investigational medicine.”
 
“The agreement is a testament to the commitment, drive and expertise of the entire Kymab team and we are pleased to receive this endorsement from Sanofi,” added Simon Sturge, Chief Executive Officer, Kymab. “With its significant global resources, we believe Sanofi is the perfect partner to progress Kymab’s pipeline of products and the merger will expedite the time it takes for our novel therapies to get to patients.”
 
The deal will take place in cash and the companies expect to complete it by the end of June.
 
(Source:www.channelnewsasia.com & www.sanofi.com)