Vir to Acquire Sanofi Assets and Cut 25% of Workforce

Vir Biotechnology, Inc. has entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement with Sanofi for three clinical-stage masked T-cell engagers (TCEs) and exclusive use of the protease-cleavable masking platform for oncology and infectious diseases, acquired by Sanofi from Amunix Pharmaceuticals. Sanofi will receive an upfront payment and is eligible to receive future development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments and royalties on sales. 
 
Vir also announced a strategic restructuring initiative to prioritize its clinical-stage pipeline opportunities, including a workforce reduction of approximately 140 employees or 25% of its workforce, and the discontinuation of its influenza and COVID-19 programs. The initiative aims to save approximately $50 million to be invested in the Sanofi assets.
 
As part of the strategic agreement with Sanofi, key employees with extensive scientific and development expertise in TCEs, and in-depth experience using the masking platform technology, will join Vir.
 
The clinical-stage assets include SAR446309 (AMX-818), a dual-masked HER2-targeted TCE; SAR446329 (AMX-500), a dual-masked PSMA-targeted TCE; and SAR446368 (AMX-525), a dual-masked EGFR-targeted TCE. Sanofi’s masking platform can be applied to TCEs, cytokines, and other molecules by exploiting the intrinsically high protease activity of the tumor microenvironment to specifically activate drugs in tumor tissues. The selective activation of the molecules in the tumor microenvironment potentially increases the therapeutic index (TI) and mitigates toxicities associated with the systemic immune activation seen with traditional TCEs.
 
“At Vir, the cornerstone of our commitment is and always will be patient-centered, with the aim to advance transformative medicines for patients facing severe diseases with unmet medical needs. Despite recent innovation in cancer therapeutics, the prognosis for many patients remains poor and treatment-associated toxicity is a major problem,” said Marianne De Backer, M.Sc., Ph.D., MBA, Vir’s Chief Executive Officer. “These potential best-in-class T-cell engagers aim to help address these problems and further us in our mission of powering the immune system to transform lives.”