We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Sanofi Inks $1.9B Deal With Dren Bio to Buy Autoimmune Disease Drug
Read MoreHide Full Article
Sanofi (SNY - Free Report) announced that it signed an agreement with California-based privately held biopharmaceutical company Dren Bio to acquire the latter’s investigational bispecific antibody DR-0201.
DR-0201 is a CD20-directed bispecific myeloid cell engager designed to induce deep B-cell depletion. Dren Bio is currently evaluating the drug in two ongoing early-stage studies — B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and autoimmune diseases.
Sanofi believes that DR-0201 has the potential to reset the immune system, which can lead to sustained treatment-free remission in patients with refractory B-cell-mediated autoimmune diseases, like lupus. The company’s decision to acquire DR-0201 stems from the deep and robust B-cell depletion response seen across ‘pre-clinical and early clinical studies.’
Per the terms of the deal, Sanofi will pay $600 million as an upfront payment to Dren Bio. The California-based company will also be eligible to receive up to $1.3 billion in potential milestone payments. The transaction, which is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025, will be financed by Sanofi using its available cash resources.
Founded in 2019, Dren Bio has been garnering interest from big pharma for its proprietary bispecific antibody-based technology. In the last three years, this biopharmaceutical company already has signed multi-billion dollar partnerships with bigwigs Novartis (NVS - Free Report) and Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) for novel cancer therapies. While the PFE deal is valued at more than a billion dollars, the NVS deal is valued at about $3 billion.
SNY Stock Price Performance
Year to date, Sanofi’s shares have risen nearly 22% compared with the industry’s 7% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
What's Sanofi’s Intent Behind the Deal?
Through this deal, SNY intends to expand its immunology pipeline and establish itself as a ‘leading immunology company.’ It has a strong immunology and neuro-inflammation pipeline, which includes 12 potential blockbuster assets in phase III development, including amlitelimab, frexalimab and tolebrutinib.
The potential success in the development of the above candidates will help the company narrow its dependence on the blockbuster immunology drug Dupixent, which is marketed in collaboration with Regeneron (REGN - Free Report) . This drug is currently a key top-line driver for both SNY and REGN. In 2024, Sanofi recorded more than €13 billion from Dupixent product sales, indicating 23% year-over-year growth. The reported Dupixent sales figure accounted for about a third of the company’s total 2024 revenues.
Sanofi is also investing in the launches of its new products to optimize its success. It believes that its three new products launched/added in 2023, Altuviiio (for hemophilia A), Beyfortus (for RSV) and Tzield (for type 1 diabetes), together can add up to at least €5 billion in peak sales. Beyfortus achieved blockbuster sales in its first full year of sales in 2024. Altuviiio is expected to achieve blockbuster sales in 2025.
Image: Bigstock
Sanofi Inks $1.9B Deal With Dren Bio to Buy Autoimmune Disease Drug
Sanofi (SNY - Free Report) announced that it signed an agreement with California-based privately held biopharmaceutical company Dren Bio to acquire the latter’s investigational bispecific antibody DR-0201.
DR-0201 is a CD20-directed bispecific myeloid cell engager designed to induce deep B-cell depletion. Dren Bio is currently evaluating the drug in two ongoing early-stage studies — B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and autoimmune diseases.
Sanofi believes that DR-0201 has the potential to reset the immune system, which can lead to sustained treatment-free remission in patients with refractory B-cell-mediated autoimmune diseases, like lupus. The company’s decision to acquire DR-0201 stems from the deep and robust B-cell depletion response seen across ‘pre-clinical and early clinical studies.’
Per the terms of the deal, Sanofi will pay $600 million as an upfront payment to Dren Bio. The California-based company will also be eligible to receive up to $1.3 billion in potential milestone payments. The transaction, which is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025, will be financed by Sanofi using its available cash resources.
Founded in 2019, Dren Bio has been garnering interest from big pharma for its proprietary bispecific antibody-based technology. In the last three years, this biopharmaceutical company already has signed multi-billion dollar partnerships with bigwigs Novartis (NVS - Free Report) and Pfizer (PFE - Free Report) for novel cancer therapies. While the PFE deal is valued at more than a billion dollars, the NVS deal is valued at about $3 billion.
SNY Stock Price Performance
Year to date, Sanofi’s shares have risen nearly 22% compared with the industry’s 7% growth.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
What's Sanofi’s Intent Behind the Deal?
Through this deal, SNY intends to expand its immunology pipeline and establish itself as a ‘leading immunology company.’ It has a strong immunology and neuro-inflammation pipeline, which includes 12 potential blockbuster assets in phase III development, including amlitelimab, frexalimab and tolebrutinib.
The potential success in the development of the above candidates will help the company narrow its dependence on the blockbuster immunology drug Dupixent, which is marketed in collaboration with Regeneron (REGN - Free Report) . This drug is currently a key top-line driver for both SNY and REGN. In 2024, Sanofi recorded more than €13 billion from Dupixent product sales, indicating 23% year-over-year growth. The reported Dupixent sales figure accounted for about a third of the company’s total 2024 revenues.
Sanofi is also investing in the launches of its new products to optimize its success. It believes that its three new products launched/added in 2023, Altuviiio (for hemophilia A), Beyfortus (for RSV) and Tzield (for type 1 diabetes), together can add up to at least €5 billion in peak sales. Beyfortus achieved blockbuster sales in its first full year of sales in 2024. Altuviiio is expected to achieve blockbuster sales in 2025.
Sanofi Price
Sanofi price | Sanofi Quote
SNY’s Zacks Ranks
Sanofi currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.