The French giant wants to strengthen itself in immuno-oncology.
The French laboratory Sanofi announced on Tuesday that it had reached an agreement to acquire the American biotech Amunix for at least a billion dollars in order to strengthen itself in immuno-oncology. Under the terms of the agreement, Sanofi will acquire Amunix for an upfront payment of $ 1 billion, along with $ 225 million in milestone payments, “depending on the achievement of certain development objectives“, He said in a press release.
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Amunix is a company specializing in immuno-oncology, which develops therapeutic cytokines (cytokines are small glycoproteins that participate in the balance of the two major systems of immunity, editor’s note) and immunotherapies that engage T lymphocytes in order to transform treatments for cancer patients. Biotech has an advanced-stage drug candidate, AMX-81, which is expected to enter the clinical phase in early 2022, says Sanofi.
“Amunix’s technology platform uses a new generation of intelligent biological agents to develop targeted drugs that can only be activated in the tumor microenvironment so as to spare healthy tissues, which could lead to more effective and safer treatment options. cancer patients“Said John Reed, global head of research and development at Sanofi, quoted in the press release. This acquisition “illustrates our desire to invest in promising research and development platformsJohn Reed continues.
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Sanofi has indeed increased acquisitions recently. Last major operation to date, he bought in September Kadmon, an American biotech which is developing a treatment for people who have undergone a transplant, for around 1.6 billion euros.
Just before, he had acquired the American biotech Translate Bio, specializing in messenger RNA, for 2.7 billion euros. The technology developed by Amunix can be applied to a wide range of existing and developing assets, argues the French group. Sanofi expects to complete this acquisition in the first quarter of 2022.
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