Sanofi to buy Vicebio in US$1.6b deal for Aussie-developed vaccine tech
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The news: Sanofi is acquiring UK biotechnology company Vicebio for up to USD1.6 billion ($2.4 billion) in the largest deal involving a company commercialising intellectual property from an Australian university.
Vicebio holds exclusive rights to the molecular clamp vaccine technology invented by University of Queensland scientists and is developing candidates for RSV and human metapneumovirus.
The numbers: The deal includes a USD1.15 billion upfront payment and up to USD450 million in milestone payments, Sanofi said.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter this year. Sanofi said the acquisition will not have a significant impact on its full-year guidance.
The context: Vicebio was founded in 2018 to commercialise UQ's molecular clamp technology via a licence from its commercialization arm, UniQuest. The platform stabilises viral proteins to improve immune response and enables the development of fully liquid combination vaccines stored at standard refrigeration temperatures.
The technology was previously used in a COVID-19 vaccine attempt, which was abandoned due to false HIV test results.
Sanofi has recently faced setbacks in its drug pipeline and is making acquisitions, including the USD9.5 billion purchase of Blueprint Medicines, to strengthen its position.
