Sanofi (SNY.US) to acquire early-stage myeloid bispecific antibody for $600M upfront

Sinovent (SNY.US) announced on March 20 that it has entered into a final agreement to acquire Dren Bio's myeloid cell bispecific antibody, DR-0201, for a total of $1.9 billion, including a $600 million upfront payment, which is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2025. Under the terms of the agreement, Sinovent will acquire DR-0201 through the acquisition of Dren Bio's subsidiary Dren-0201 for a $600 million upfront payment and potential future payments of up to $1.3 billion upon the achievement of certain development and commercial milestones. Dren Bio will continue to operate independently after the transaction. DR-0201 is a potential first-in-class bispecific antibody targeting CD20 that acts on specific tissue-resident and migratory myeloid cells to induce deep B cell depletion through targeting phagocytosis. DR-0201 has shown good preclinical safety in multiple non-human primate studies without cytokine release syndrome or neurotoxicity. The product is currently in a Phase I clinical trial for polymyositis, B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Sjogren's syndrome, etc. Dren Bio, founded in 2019, is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company targeting myeloid cell activators and phagocytosis through a technology based on bispecific antibodies that engage phagocytic receptors selectively expressed on myeloid cells to induce robust clearance of pathogenic cells, protein aggregates, and other causative factors.