Lead Pharma to Partner with Sanofi on Development of Treatments for Autoimmune Diseases
Lead Pharma, a pharmaceutical company developing innovative medicines for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and cancer, today announced that it has entered into a research collaboration and license agreement with Sanofi to discover, develop and commercialize small molecule therapies directed against the nuclear hormone receptor ROR gamma (t) to treat a broad range of autoimmune disorders, including common diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease.
Researchers have identified 80 to 100 different autoimmune disorders and suspect at least an additional 40 diseases of being driven by immune function. These diseases are chronic and can be life-threatening.
“With an estimated 25 million people in the U.S. alone affected by such a broad range of autoimmune disorders, a significant unmet medical need exists in the area, and anti-ROR gamma (t) therapies represent a ground-breaking opportunity that we are eager and motivated to pursue through our collaboration with Lead Pharma,” said Christian Antoni, Vice President and Head of the Immunology & Inflammation Franchise, Research and Development, Sanofi. “Lead Pharma’s innovative capabilities and productivity, exemplified by the ROR gamma (t) program, make them ideal partners for Sanofi in this area of drug discovery.”
“We are absolutely delighted to start a relationship with Sanofi, a collaboration that builds on the culture of scientific excellence fostered by both companies,” said Ad van Gorp, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lead Pharma. Arthur Oubrie, Chief Scientific Officer of Lead Pharma, added: “We are excited to combine our own excellence in structure-based drug design, medicinal chemistry and target-based pharmacology with the fire power of Sanofi in drug discovery, development and commercialization.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Lead Pharma will receive an upfront payment and is eligible to receive research, development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments. Further details of the financial terms have not been disclosed. Sanofi is responsible for clinical development and will have worldwide marketing and commercialization rights to any products that may be developed as a result of the collaboration. Lead Pharma is entitled to receive royalty payments on global sales from any such products.