Sanofi develops Principa’s drug for multiple sclerosis

Sanofi will develop Principia Biopharma`s experimental oral treatment that could tackle multiple sclerosis (MS) and, maybe other central nervous system (CNS) diseases.

Under the license agreement signed this week, Sanofi will develop Principia`s Bruton`s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor (PRN2246), which was designed to access the brain and spinal cord by crossing the blood-brain barrier and impact immune cell and brain cell signalling. PRN2246 is currently in clinical development.

Principia will grant Sanofi an exclusive, worldwide license to develop and commercialize PRN2246. Sanofi will pay Principia a $40 million upfront payment, future milestone payments that could total $765 million and royalties on product sales.

“Our agreement with Principia is an example of Sanofi`s strategic commitment to build our drug discovery and development pipeline in MS and neurological diseases,” says Rita Balice-Gordon, Global Head of MS/Neuroscience Therapeutic Research Area at Sanofi. “Complementing our own internal R&D expertise, external relationships like this may accelerate delivery of new treatments to patients living with these serious diseases.”

Martin Babler, Chief Executive Officer of Principia Biopharma, said: “Sanofi is an ideal partner for PRN2246. The agreement allows Principia to maximize the BTK opportunity in neurology with a strong partner for PRN2246 while focusing internal resources on our lead BTK inhibitor in another therapeutic area. PRN2246 is a blood brain barrier crossing, highly potent BTK inhibitor, that we believe is especially well suited for the treatment of MS and other neurological disorders.”