Sanofi

Sanofi raised $1.15 billion to acquire Vicebio, a startup with a respiratory vaccine candidate, and a platform technology that will support the drug giant’s ambitions to expand its portfolio to address vaccines with vaccines to address two or more pathogens.
In addition to stepping forward to pay, the deal announced Tuesday that line up Vicebio will receive up to $450 million in revenue, linked to unspecified development and regulatory milestones. The most advanced Vicebio project, VXB-241, is a bivalent vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human viral virus (HMPV) in phase 1 development.
The current vaccination method for respiratory diseases is a single shot of each pathogen. As more vaccines are available for more pathogens, the harm of more vaccines to patients is becoming increasingly daunting. London-based Vicebio is developing multivalent vaccines that could be burdensome. In addition to VXB-241 tested in older adults, Vicebio pipeline also includes VXB-251, which is used in preclinical development to address RSV, HMPV and Parainfluenza virus type 3 (PIV3).
Like other proteins, viral antigens have no fixed shape. This instability makes it difficult to cause a strong immune response. Vicebio's technology, called Molecular Clamp, can stabilize viral proteins in the optimal shape of the immune system to recognize them. Sanofi said the technology is a way to develop fully liquid combination vaccines that can be stored at standard refrigeration temperatures faster. This capability eliminates the need for frozen or freeze-dried vaccines, thus simplifying the manufacturing and distribution of vaccines. Likewise, vaccines made with this technique can also be provided in pre-infused syringes.
“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,” Jean-François Toussaint, global head of research and development vaccines at Sanofi, said in a prepared statement.
The molecular clip is based on research from the University of Queensland, Australia. Medicxi grants the technology rights and provides Vicebio with a founding investment. The startup raised its last 2024 funding, a $100 million Series B financing to support VXB-241 phase testing for RSV and HMPV. At the time, Vicebio said preliminary data is expected to be conducted in mid-2025. So far, no results have been released.
Sanofi has already been well established in the flu vaccine. It attempts to build on the next-generation influenza lenses based on Messenger RNA technology based on its $3.2 billion conversion into 2021 bioaccess.
The drug giant is pursuing respiratory pathogens for other vaccines based on its mRNA platform. For RSV, SP0125 is currently undergoing phase 2 testing in the elderly. SP0256 is a bivalent vaccine for RSV and HMPV and is currently under test in phase 1/2. Early clinical development is also SP0291, an mRNA vaccine for RSV, HMPV and PIV3. Sanofi said Vicebio's vaccine complements the pipeline, which could allow the company to provide non-MRNA vaccine options for doctors and patients.
Leerink Partners said in a research note that this evidence is Sanofi’s passion for developing a protein-based influenza vaccine, after its 2024 alliance with Novavax, enabling these companies to develop a Covid-19/Flu vaccine portfolio. The company also believes the deal is a sign of accelerated merger and acquisition activities.
The acquisition of Vice Bio is expected to be closed in the fourth quarter of this year, awaiting customer closure conditions, including regulatory registration. Sanofi's other business deals this year include the $9.5 billion acquisition of Blueprint drug developers closed last week. Earlier this year, Sanofi paid $470 million for vigil neuroscience, and $600 million for early autoimmune disease drugs for Dren Bio.
Public Domain Images of CDC