Sanofi acquires Kymab biopharma to expand its immunotherapy pipeline

Pharma News: Sanofi is set to acquire Kymab, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing fully human monoclonal antibodies with a focus on immune-mediated diseases and immuno-oncology therapeutics.

The acquisition entails an upfront payment of approximately $1.1 billion and up to $350 million upon achievement of certain milestones.

The transaction will result in Sanofi having global rights to KY1005, a fully human monoclonal antibody that has a novel mechanism of action.

“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. 

Simon Sturge, Chief Executive Officer of Kymab, said “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.”

In August 2020, Kymab announced that KY1005 met both primary endpoints in a Phase 2a clinical trial studying moderate to severe atopic dermatitis patients whose disease is inadequately controlled with topical corticosteroids. KY1005 demonstrated a consistent treatment effect versus placebo across various key endpoints, including in the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) and additional objective clinical measures.

“This acquisition aligns with our strategy of targeting fundamentally important disease pathways. We believe that OX40L, a key immune regulator, has the potential to rebalance the immune system without suppressing it, providing a promising new approach to treating a range of immune-mediated diseases,” said John Reed, M.D. Ph.D., Global Head of Research & Development at Sanofi.

Kymab’s pipeline also includes the oncology asset KY1044, an ICOS agonist monoclonal antibody, currently in early Phase 1/2 development as monotherapy and in combination with an anti-PD-L1.

The deal is the latest acquisition for Sanofi. In November 2020, Sanofi spent $376 million on biotechnology company Kiadis, which specialises in cell-based immunotherapy products to treat cancer.

In August 2020, Sanofi acquired up autoimmune diseases specialist Principia Biopharma for $3.7 billion, following a $2.5 billion investment to acquire immuno-oncology treatments group Synthorx in December 2019.