Sanofi is linking arms with BioNTech under multiyear exclusive collaboration and license agreement targeting the discovery and development of up to five new cancer immunotherapies containing a mix of messenger RNAs, that could bring more than $1.5 billion to the latter’s books.
Sanofi is paying BioNTech $60 million in upfront and near-term milestone payments for rights to the candidates based on the latter’s technology, but the firm could receive over $300 million more in development, regulatory and commercial milestones and other payments, as well as sales-based royalties, for each product.
Under the terms of the deal, BioNTech also holds the option to co-develop and co-commercialise two of the five mRNA therapeutics products with Sanofi in the European Union and the US.
“The collaboration with Sanofi is groundbreaking: through using our broad suite of mRNA technologies and extensive tumor immunology understanding, it will allow us to develop a completely new class of cancer immune-therapeutics with Sanofi, which we believe will have a profound and deep impact on the treatment of cancer,” said BioNTech chief executive Ugur Sahin, commenting on the move.
Source: Pharma Times
Giovanni Caforio, the former CEO of Bristol Myers Squibb, is set to become the next board chairman of Novartis, which on Tuesday proposed the pharmaceutical industry veteran as its pick to replace Joerg Reinhardt in the role next year. Reinhardt has served as Novartis’ chair since 2013 and plans to retire when his 12-year term ends in 2025.
GE HealthCare has raised the curtain on two ultrasound systems equipped with artificial intelligence programs designed to assist in diagnosing conditions in women’s health, including obstetric exams. The Voluson Signature 20 and 18 imaging systems include AI tools capable of automatically identifying and annotating measurements of fetal anatomy.
Scientists from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Chemistry have revealed a new sustainable method of manufacturing complex molecules that could reduce waste produced during drug production. The method published in Nature Chemistry could help to prevent severe side effects caused by drugs that can exist as enantiomers.
