Sanofi to return OXB ophthalmology gene therapy programmes rights

Oxford Biomedica and Sanofi entered an agreement in 2009 to license out the former’s ophthalmology gene therapies SAR422459 for Stargardt disease and SAR421869 for Usher’s Syndrome type 1b to the latter.

Last February Sanofi said it was looking for a new partner for these two programmes, but a recent statement from the company said: “Following completion of a company-wide portfolio review, Sanofi intends to return to OXB the rights to its ophthalmology gene therapy programs.” Now the phase 1/2 proof-of-concept study for SAR422459 has been halted, whilst the clinical trial of SAR421869 to evaluate the long-term safety and tolerability of SAR421869 in patients with Usher syndrome type 1B is still ongoing. A statement from OXB read: “The timing of return of these programs and operational details are yet to be determined. However, when the rights to the two programs are returned, the group will undertake its own internal evaluation to determine the potential future for these programs and decide whether to commit further resources to them. “

The Bioverativ (Sanofi company)/Oxford Biomedica collaboration and licence agreement for the development and manufacturing of lentiviral vectors to treat haemophilia, is not affected by this latest news.