Sanofi to Acquire Amunix Pharmaceuticals for Over $1 Billion to Advance Next-Generation Immuno-Oncology Pipeline

On December 21, Sanofi announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire Amunix Pharmaceuticals (hereinafter referred to as "Amunix") to develop the next generation of biologics. According to the terms of the agreement, Sanofi will acquire Amunix for an upfront payment of approximately $1 billion and pay up to $225 million upon achieving certain future development milestones. Sanofi announced that this acquisition will add promising T-cell engagers (TCE) and cytokine therapeutic pipelines, with the lead candidate AMX-818 expected to enter clinical trials in early 2022. AMX-818 is a (XPAT) T-cell engager targeting various HER2-expressing solid tumors. Through the acquisition, Sanofi will gain access to Amunix's Pro-XTEN, XPAT, and XPAC technologies, which are complementary to its existing R&D platforms.

T Cell Engager (TCE) blinatumomab has previously demonstrated that redirected T cells can prolong remission in cancer patients. Similarly, cytokine-based therapies have shown significant anti-tumor potential. However, current TCE and cytokine treatments have been limited by side effects and immunogenicity. Amunix is focused on developing innovative T cell engagers and cytokines, applying these novel immunotherapies to the treatment of solid tumors. The company is leveraging its proprietary XPAT and XPAC platforms to develop a pipeline of new drugs that can be preferentially activated within the tumor microenvironment to overcome the side effects associated with T cell and cytokine therapies. Amunix is currently advancing AMX-818 into clinical trials, along with several other T cell engagers (including PSMA-XPAT and EGFR-XPAT), as well as a protease-activated cytokine program, IL12-XPAC.

XTEN Platform Introduces Precise Modifications of Recombinant Protein Engineering into the Field of Polymer Chemistry. Similar to chemical polymers, XTEN protein polymers possess undefined structures and utilize a limited set of specific amino acids, leveraging recombinant protein expression technology to achieve specific lengths and sequences. Proteins designed via the XTEN platform exhibit reduced immunogenicity and can be fused with various therapeutic proteins (such as TCEs, cytokines, and checkpoint inhibitors), ultimately extending the half-life of therapeutic proteins in patients while modulating their activity. Based on XTEN technology, the company has also developed the proprietary XPAC platform, aiming to overcome toxicity and immunogenicity challenges commonly faced by bispecific antibodies and cytokine-based therapies.

References:

[1] Sanofi to acquire Amunix immuno-oncology pipeline with next generation Conditionally Activated Biologics. Retrieved 2021-12-21, from https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/12/21/2355740/0/en/Sanofi-to-acquire-Amunix-immuno-oncology-pipeline-with-next-generation-Conditionally-Activated-Biologics.html

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