Sanofi licenses coeliac disease therapy from Selecta Biosciences

Sanofi has licensed a new coeliac disease therapy from Selecta Biosciences as part of an existing strategic global collaboration.

The company has exercised its option to an exclusive license to develop the promising antigen-specific immunotherapy from Selecta, which is based on Synthetic Vaccine Particle technology.

Selecta is eligible to receive research funding and milestone-based fees totalling up to $300 million (189.9 million pounds) for this new programme, plus double-digit tiered royalties as a percentage of product net sales for any resulting commercial product.

Selecta and Sanofi formed their strategic global collaboration in 2012 to discover highly targeted, antigen-specific immunotherapies for life-threatening allergies.

Kurt Stoeckli, vice-president and head of biotherapeutics for research and development at Sanofi, said: "Sanofi and Selecta are working together to push toward the outer barriers of immunotherapy to deliver innovative solutions to patients. This area is constantly evolving, and with partners like Selecta, breakthrough medicines may be within our grasp."

During the first quarter of 2015, the company achieved a 2.4 percent year-on-year sales improvement, thanks to newer products such as Toujeo and Lemtrada.