Sanofi Strikes $2.56B AI-Powered Deal with China's Earendil Labs to Advance Bispecific Antibodies in Immunology

Recently, the pharmaceutical giantSanofiAnnouncement of cooperation with artificial intelligence biotechnology companyEarendil Labs (Subsidiary of Helixon)Reach an important cooperation agreement to jointly advance drug research and development in the fields of autoimmune diseases and immunology.

According to the agreement, Earendil Labs will receive up to$160 million in upfront and short-term paymentsThe company applies its unique discovery platform to multiple bispecific antibody research and development projects in the fields of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

The total potential value of this collaboration between the two parties, including upfront payments, subsequent development, and commercial milestone rewards, amounts to up to $2.56 billion. In addition, Earendil Labs will also collect royalties based on the net sales of the product after its market launch, with rates reaching a maximum of double-digit percentages.

Sanofi is responsible for the further development of all bispecific candidate drugs generated from the collaboration and holds their global commercialization rights.

Notably, this collaboration marks another significant advancement following the initial agreement between the two parties in April 2025. At that time, Sanofi paid Earendil Labs $125 million to obtain the global exclusive rights to two bispecific antibodies developed by Helixon.

One of them, code-namedHXN-1002, which can simultaneously target α4β7 and TL1A, intended for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease; anotherHXN-1003Targeting TL1A and IL23 for the treatment of colitis and skin inflammation.

Helixon was founded inJune 2021, FounderDr. Peng Jian, serving as a Senior Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University's Institute for AI Industry, and previously served as an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Since its establishment in June 2021, the companyA variety of innovative algorithms for protein drug design and modeling have been developed.`, its AI antibody design platform`Helixon Design, which can simulate intermolecular interactions on a large scale, efficiently design multi-target antibodies, and significantly shorten the R&D cycle.

Last July, Helixon announced the completion of the first dosing in the Phase I clinical trial of its anti-TL1A antibody HXN-1001. The drug is currently being evaluated for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, showing potential as a therapeutic option.

In the past year, Sanofi has continued to increase its investment in the layout of its autoimmune and immunology product lines. For instance, the company reached a $480 million agreement with Nurix to introduce a previously difficult-to-drug transcription factor degrader; it also signed a collaboration agreement worth up to $1.6 billion with Dren Bio to jointly develop a CD20-targeted antibody for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Paris, France-based Sanofi also closed out 2025 by further expanding its collaboration with Dren Bio, investing $100 million in the development of a next-generation B-cell depletion therapy targeting "multiple autoimmune diseases."

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