The acquisition will bring Vicebo's Molecular Clamp technology under Sanofi's umbrella.
Sanofi announced an agreement to acquire biotech company Vicebio Ltd for $1.15 billion, expanding its respiratory vaccine pipeline and future capabilities in vaccine design and development with Vicebio’s ‘Molecular Clamp’ technology.
According to the terms of the agreement, Sanofi will acquire London-based Vicebio’s entire share capital for an upfront payment of $1.15 billion with milestone payments upwards of $450 million based on development and regulatory checkpoints. The deal is set to close in Q4 of 2025 and won’t drastically affect Sanofi’s financial guidance for 2025.
“We are excited to join Sanofi, their global scale and deep expertise in vaccine development provide the ideal environment to fully realize the potential of our innovative technology," Emmanuel Hanon, chief executive officer at Vicebio, said in a news release. "As part of the Sanofi team, we look forward to advancing our platform and pipeline to deliver meaningful benefits for patients and public health.” 1
Vicebio’s Molecular Clamp technology is one of the driving forces in the deal, as the technology enables researchers to stabilize naturally shaped viral proteins, enabling the immune system to recognize and react at an improved rate. This allows for accelerated development of liquid combination vaccines, which allows them to be stored in refrigerators. This eliminates the need for freezing and freeze-drying vaccines, making the production and distribution of vaccines much simpler.
Jean-François Toussaint, global head of research and development for vaccines at Sanofi discussed the technology's impact on the deal, saying, “Vicebio's Molecular Clamp technology introduces a purposefully simple but thoughtful approach to further improve vaccine designs at a time when respiratory viral infections continue to impact millions globally. This acquisition furthers Sanofi's dedication to vaccine innovation with the potential to develop next-generation combination vaccines that could provide protection to older adults against multiple respiratory viruses with a single immunization." 1
Alongside Molecular Clamp technology, the acquisition brings Vxb-241, an early-stage combination vaccine candidate for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human metapneumovirus(hMPV), under Sanofi's umbrella. The vaccine candidate expands Sanofi's foothold in the respiratory vaccine industry, allowing the biopharma to offer additional choices to patients and physicians to treat RSV and hMPV.
Sanofi plans on continuing Vicebio’s scheduled pipeline of vaccines, including Vxb-241, which is currently in Phase 1 study for older adults.
Vxb-251, a preclinical trivalent vaccine candidate targets RSV, hMPV, and parainfluenza virus type 3, all of which are leading causes of lower respiratory tract infections. Although the three viruses produce similar symptoms of coughing, fever, and respiratory distress, each are antigenically distinct. All three viruses also contribute to seasonal spikes in respiratory infections directly affecting older adults and leading to risk of hospitalization, and even death.
Sanofi also recently completed the acquisition of Blueprint Medicines Corporation, a biopharma developing treatments for systemic mastocytosis and other KIT-driven diseases.2
The two companies announced the acquisition in June of this year.3 At the time, it was announced that Sanofi would pay $129-per-share in cash at closing for a total of $9.1 billion. Paul Hudson, Sanofi's CEO, said at the time, "The proposed acquisition of Blueprint Medicines represents a strategic step forward in our rare and immunology portfolios. It enhances our pipeline and accelerates our transformation into the world's leading immunology company. This acquisition is fully aligned with our strategic intent to strengthen our existing therapeutic areas, to bring relevant and differentiated medicines to patients and to secure attractive returns to our shareholders. It complements recent acquisitions of early-stage medicines that remain our main field of interest. Sanofi still retains a sizeable capacity for further acquisitions. We are excited to welcome Blueprint’s talented people and we look forward to chasing the miracles of science together. This makes sense for science, for both companies, for healthcare professionals, and––most of all––for patients.”
