The deal is the latest in a series of Sanofi investments in its immunology portfolio. According to Sanfoi, DR-0201 can achieve deep B cell depletion, giving it the potential to reset the immune system.
In the latest investment in the immunology space, Sanofi has agreed to a $600 million upfront payment to buy Dren Bio’s investigational bispecific antibody DR-0201 in a deal announced Thursday.
The asset is a targeted cell engager that binds to the CD20 protein on B cells, tagging them for destruction. In early clinical studies, DR-0201 has demonstrated the ability to strongly deplete B cells, an effect that according to Sanofi’s release on Thursday gives it the “potential to reset the adaptive immune system.”
Under Thursday’s agreement, Sanofi has also promised to hand over up to $1.3 billion in certain development and launch milestone payments. The companies expect to close the transaction in the second quarter of 2025, contingent on regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. It remains unclear what the arrangement for royalties will be.
Houman Ashrafian, head of research and development at Sanofi, said in a statement that this approach of inducing deep B cell depletion “is at the forefront of treating autoimmune diseases” and has “the potential to elevate the treatment effect for patients,” especially those who show poor or suboptimal response to existing therapies.
DR-0201 is currently in a Phase I trial for B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, as well as a Phase I basket trial for patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases.
With the DR-0201 buy, Sanofi moves closer to its ambition of becoming an “the leading immunology company,” as Ashrafian said in a May 2024 statement. The pharma already has an imposing presence in this space with its Regeneron-partnered blockbuster drug Dupixent, originally approved in 2017 for atopic dermatitis and racking up additional immune-related indications, most recently for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Dupixent is the first biologic to be approved for this indication.
To add to its success with Dupixent, Sanofi has made a number of recent deals to bolster its immunology portfolio. In June 2024, the company linked up with Belharra Therapeutics to develop small-molecule drug candidates against undisclosed immunology target. The pharma paid $40 million upfront and pledged nearly $700 million in additional payments under this contract.
In October 2023, Sanofi inked a potential $1.5 billion partnership with Teva Pharmaceuticals to develop TEV’574, an investigational anti-TL1A agent being studied for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. A few months earlier, Sanofi teamed up with Recludix Pharma, putting more than $1.3 billion on the line to advance oral STAT6 inhibitors for immunology and inflammatory indications.
Clarification (March 20): This story has been updated from its original version to clarify that $1.9 billion is the total potential value of the deal and that DR-0201 is being studied in a Phase I trial for autoimmune disease. BioSpace regrets any confusion.
