Sanofi has agreed to acquire Vicebio, a privately held biotechnology company headquartered in London, which has rights to the Molecular Clamp Technology developed at the University of Queensland.
The acquisition is made for an upfront payment of US$1.15 billion, with potential milestone payments of up to US$450 million contingent upon development and regulatory achievements.
Vicebio is developing next-generation respiratory virus vaccines using the Molecular Clamp Technology. The company was founded with investment from Medicxi and acquired the rights to the Molecular Clamp technology through a license from UniQuest, the commercialisation arm of The University of Queensland (UQ). The proprietary technology was developed by Professor Paul Young, Professor Daniel Watterson, and Professor Keith Chappell at UQ.
Sanofi acquires an early-stage combination vaccine candidate for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human metapneumovirus (hMPV), both respiratory viruses, and expands the capabilities in vaccine design and development with the ‘Molecular Clamp’ technology.
The ‘Molecular Clamp’ stabilises viral proteins in their native shape, enabling the immune system to recognise and respond to them more effectively. This approach enables quicker development of fully liquid combination vaccines that can be stored at standard refrigeration temperatures, eliminating the need for freezing or freeze-drying, thereby simplifying manufacturing and distribution.
"Vicebio's ‘Molecular Clamp’ technology introduces a purposefully simple but thoughtful approach to further improve vaccine designs at a time when respiratory viral infections continue to impact millions globally”, said Jean-François Toussaint, Global Head of Research and Development Vaccines at Sanofi. “This acquisition furthers Sanofi's dedication to vaccine innovation with the potential to develop next-generation combination vaccines that could provide protection to older adults against multiple respiratory viruses with a single immunisation."
“We are excited to join Sanofi,” said Emmanuel Hanon, CEO at Vicebio. “Their global scale and deep expertise in vaccine development provide the ideal environment to fully realize the potential of our innovative technology. As part of the Sanofi team, we look forward to advancing our platform and pipeline to deliver meaningful benefits for patients and public health.”