The American laboratory Regeneron will pay at least 900 million dollars (863 million francs) to the French group Sanofi to obtain the exclusive license of Libtayo, a monoclonal antibody used in cancer treatments.
Since 2015, the two laboratories have shared equally the operating profits generated by the sales of this drug worldwide.
With this new agreement, Sanofi will therefore transfer all of its rights to Libtayo to Regeneron against an initial payment of 900 million dollars and royalties of 11% on worldwide sales.
Additional payments, depending on potential new drug approvals, will be added thereafter, Sanofi said in a statement Thursday.
In addition, Regeneron will increase from 10% to 20% the share of profits paid to Sanofi for the reimbursement of development expenses financed by the French group.
“Our diverse oncology portfolio doubled in size between 2019 and 2022 and now consists of 12 molecules in clinical trials, each with a unique mechanism of action,” said Bill Sibold, executive vice president of the specialty medicine branch of Sanofi, quoted in the press release.
“We are now focusing on our internal capabilities and the development of a new generation of oncology drugs,” he continues.
Monoclonal antibodies are part of so-called targeted therapies, marketed for more than twenty years, which have made great progress in the fight against cancer.
Last year, Regeneron garnered 16 billion dollars in revenue, against some 38 billion euros for Sanofi.
/ATS