Sanofi to buy UK vaccines developer Vicebio for $1.6bn

Sanofi has moved to bolster its vaccines business by reaching a deal to buy London, UK-based biotech Vicebio, which was formed to produce improved, more potent shots that are simpler to manufacture.

French group Sanofi is paying $1.15 billion upfront to take control of Vicebio, with another $450 million on offer if Vicebio's pipeline meets development and regulatory milestones. Its lead asset is VXB-241, a bivalent vaccine currently in phase I trials for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human metapneumovirus (hMPV), two viruses known to cause respiratory disease in people with weaker immune systems, such as the elderly.

The deal will also give Sanofi rights to the UK firm's Molecular Clamp technology, which stabilises viral glycoprotein antigens in a 'pre-fusion' state – i.e., before they enter a host cell – boosting their ability to stimulate an immune response. The resulting vaccines are also easier to make and multivalent shots can be formulated in prefilled syringes and stored without freezing at room temperature.

Sanofi head of vaccines R&D, Jean-François Toussaint, said that Molecular Clamp "introduces a purposefully simple, but thoughtful, approach to further improve vaccine designs at a time when respiratory viral infections continue to impact millions globally."

Interim data from Vicebio's exploratory phase 1 study showed a favourable safety and tolerability profile to VXB-241 in adults aged 60 and above, and the technology it is based on could also be applied to other respiratory pathogens, including parainfluenza viruses, influenza, and coronaviruses, according to the company.

Potential rivals to VXB-241 include AstraZeneca, which is developing a combined RSV and hMPV vaccine acquired through its $1.1 billion takeover of Icosavax in 2023 in phase 2, and Moderna, which has mRNA-1365 also in mid-stage testing.

Vicebio's chief executive, Emmanuel Hanon - formerly GSK's vaccine chief - said the takeover "validates [its] ability to combine innovation and deep scientific expertise towards a common goal of advancing public health prevention," adding that Sanofi's "global scale and deep expertise in vaccine development provide the ideal environment to fully realise the potential of [its] innovative technology."

The UK company was formed in 2022 by investment group Medicxi and completed a $100 million Series B round last September led by TCGX and supported by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Avoro Ventures, venBio, UniQuest, and Medicxi.

The deal is the latest in a series of pipeline-building acquisitions by Sanofi, which also completed its $9.1 billion acquisition of rare disease therapy developer Blueprint Medicines in the last few days.