Sanofi to acquire Principia Biopharma for $3.7B

By The Science Advisory Board staff writers

August 17, 2020 -- Sanofi has announced that it plans to acquire Principia Biopharma for $3.7 billion.

Principia's Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors will boost Sanofi's efforts to build a portfolio of the next generation of treatments for autoimmune diseases, according to the firm. BTK is present in signaling pathways of key innate and adaptative cell types of the immune system. Blocking these proteins can disrupt signaling and stop inflammation and tissue destruction.

The roster includes:

  • BTK inhibitor '168, which is in a phase IIb study in patients with multiple sclerosis.
  • Rilzabrutinib, which is in a phase III program for patients with moderate to severe pemphigus.
  • Prn473 Topical, which is in phase I trials for immune diseases that manifest in the skin.

The programs are designed on Principia's Tailored Covalency platform, which creates reversible covalent and irreversible covalent small molecule inhibitors that are more selective with less off-target effects.

The deal has been approved by both companies' board of directors and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, the two firms said.

Sharing is caring: Why COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers must collaborate
Sharing knowledge between competitors will be key for establishing the manufacturing capacity needed to produce billions of COVID-19 vaccines in coming...
Sanofi, GSK get $2.1B for COVID-19 vaccine
The U.S. government will provide up to $2.1 billion to Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for the development and manufacturing of a recombinant protein-based...
Genetic regulation of immune diseases starts at birth
Areas of the human genome may explain the early origins of chronic immune and inflammatory diseases that develop later in life, according to a study published...
Inflammatory attack comes from an unexpected source in rheumatoid arthritis
Researchers have pinpointed immune cells called natural killer cells as an unexpected source of inflammatory proteins that contribute to rheumatoid arthritis....
Sanofi to establish new API company in Europe
French pharmaceutical developer Sanofi announced on February 24 that it plans to expand operations by establishing a new independent company to target...

Copyright © 2020 scienceboard.net


Conferences
Connect
Science Advisory Board on LinkedIn
Science Advisory Board on Facebook
Science Advisory Board on Twitter