Sanofi and Principia to develop new multiple sclerosis drug

Sanofi has announced a new partnership with Principia Biopharma to develop an experimental oral treatment that has shown promise in the treatment of multiple sclerosis.

The collaboration will see Sanofi develop Principia's Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor PRN2246, which was designed to access the brain and spinal cord by crossing the blood-brain barrier, thereby impacting immune cell and brain cell signalling.

PRN2246 is currently in clinical development for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and could also potentially be effective in treating other central nervous system diseases.

Sanofi will pay Principia a $40 million (30.41 million pounds) upfront fee, plus future milestone payments that could total $765 million. Principia has the option to co-fund phase III development, in exchange for either increased royalties on worldwide product sales, or a US profit and loss sharing arrangement.

Dr Rita Balice-Gordon, global head of multiple sclerosis and neuroscience research at Sanofi, said: "Our agreement with Principia is an example of Sanofi's strategic commitment to build our drug discovery and development pipeline in multiple sclerosis and neurological diseases."

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017, subject to the relevant regulatory approvals.

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