Deals In Depth: March 2022

 
• By Maureen Riordan and Deanna Kamienski

Four $1bn+ alliances were penned in March. Topping the list was a potential $6bn+ deal between Sanofi and IGM Biosciences involving IgM antibody agonists against three oncology targets and three immunology/inflammation targets. The partners aim to use IGM’s IgM antibody technology to develop therapeutics that combine the multi-valency of IgM antibodies possessing 10 binding sites compared to conventional IgG antibodies having only two target binding sites. For each oncology program, IGM will lead R&D activities (and assume related costs) through approval of the first BLA by the FDA or EMA. After that, Sanofi will lead all subsequent development and commercialization activities and gets exclusive global rights. For each immunology/inflammation program, IGM will lead R&D activities through the completion of the Phase I clinical trial for up to two constructs directed to each immunology/inflammation target, after which Sanofi will be responsible for all future development and commercialization.

Deals In Depth

In the top March M&A by deal value, AbbVie completed the acquisition of Syndesi Therapeutics for $130m upfront plus potential earnouts of up to $870m. Syndesi was created through a partnership between UCB Biopharma and a syndicate of Belgian and international investors to further develop novel SV2A modulators that had been originally discovered by UCB. AbbVie gains access to Syndesi's portfolio of novel modulators of the synaptic vesicle protein, a mechanism being evaluated for the potential treatment of cognitive impairment and other symptoms associated with a range of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease and major depressive disorder. Syndesi's lead molecule, SDI-118, is currently in Phase Ib studies in targeting nerve terminals to enhance synaptic efficiency. Financing reached $7bn in biopharma, $683m in device, and $664m in diagnostics.

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