French big pharma buys USA biopharma in mRNA push

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https://www.ft.com/content/26ddc089-eba3-4b99-9ab6-52ca3b81a2ba

Sanofi buys partner Translate Bio for $3.2bn in mRNA push

French pharma group tries to catch up with rivals who used the technology to create Covid vaccines Sanofi’s Covid-19 vaccine efforts are lagging behind competitors © Bloomberg

Hannah Kuchler, Global Pharmaceuticals Correspondent

AUGUST 3 2021

 

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https://www.ft.com/content/26ddc089-eba3-4b99-9ab6-52ca3b81a2ba

French pharmaceutical group Sanofi will acquire its partner Translate Bio for $3.2bn, as it makes a big bet on the future of mRNA as a transformative technology for vaccines and therapeutics. Paul Hudson, Sanofi’s chief executive, said the deal would allow the companies to accelerate existing development programmes, including for Covid-19 and flu vaccines, and pursue new opportunities. “Our goal is to unlock the potential of mRNA in other strategic areas such as immunology, oncology, and rare diseases in addition to vaccines,” he said.

 

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Translate Bio, based in Massachusetts, has potential drugs for cystic fibrosis and other rare lung diseases in its early stage pipeline and is examining areas such as liver conditions and oncology. Sanofi is trying to catch up with rivals Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna, after their Covid-19 vaccines proved that mRNA could create highly effective vaccines. They used the pandemic to win the first approvals for mRNA vaccines and expand production facilities. Sanofi’s Covid-19 vaccine efforts are lagging behind. Its development of a recombinant protein vaccine, boosted by an adjuvant from GlaxoSmithKline, is in a phase 3 trial, while its programme with Translate Bio is in an earlier phase 1/2 study, with results expected in the third quarter. Sanofi created a war chest for potential deals last year when it sold half its 20.6 per cent stake in Regeneron for $6.1bn. Hudson, who took over in 2019, set out a new strategy for Sanofi focusing in growth areas such as oncology and rare diseases. The boards of Sanofi and Translate Bio have unanimously agreed the deal. Sanofi will start a cash tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Translate Bio at $38, about a 10 per cent premium to its closing price on Monday. Sanofi said it was a 56 per cent premium to the volume-weighted average share price over the past 60 days. The Baupost Group, a Boston-based hedge fund that is the company’s largest shareholder, has signed a binding commitment to support the tender offer, as has Translate Bio’s chief executive, Ronald Renauld.

 

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Renauld said the acquisition would help Translate Bio achieve mRNA’s full potential. “With Sanofi’s longstanding expertise in developing and commercialising vaccines and other innovative medicines on a global scale, Translate Bio’s mRNA technology is now even better positioned to reach more people, faster,” he said.

 

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Who owns Translate Bio?
Translate Bio is a clinical-stage mRNA therapeutics company developing a new class of potentially transformative medicines to treat diseases caused by protein or gene dysfunction, or to prevent infectious diseases by generating protective immunity.

Translate Bio: Overview​

 

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How does mRNA therapy work?
mRNA transfers the instructions stored in DNA to make the proteins required in every living cell. Our approach aims to help the body make its own missing or defective protein. Unlike gene editing and gene therapy, mRNA technology does not change the genetic information of the cell, and is intended to be short-acting.

About mRNA | Moderna, Inc.​

 

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What are the 3 RNA types?
Of the many types of RNA, the three most well-known and most commonly studied are messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), and ribosomal RNA (rRNA), which are present in all organisms.

RNA | Definition, Structure, Types, & Functions | Britannica​

 

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What are the 3 RNA types?
Of the many types of RNA, the three most well-known and most commonly studied are messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), and ribosomal RNA (rRNA), which are present in all organisms.

RNA | Definition, Structure, Types, & Functions | Britannica​

RNA, abbreviation of ribonucleic acid, complex compound of high molecular weight that functions in cellular protein synthesis and replaces DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) as a carrier of genetic codes in some viruses. RNA consists of ribose nucleotides (nitrogenous bases appended to a ribose sugar) attached by phosphodiester bonds, forming strands of varying lengths. The nitrogenous bases in RNA are adenine, guanine, cytosine, and uracil, which replaces thymine in DNA.


The ribose sugar of RNA is a cyclical structure consisting of five carbons and one oxygen. The presence of a chemically reactive hydroxyl (−OH) group attached to the second carbon group in the ribose sugar molecule makes RNA prone to hydrolysis. This chemical lability of RNA, compared with DNA, which does not have a reactive −OH group in the same position on the sugar moiety (deoxyribose), is thought to be one reason why DNA evolved to be the preferred carrier of genetic information in most organisms. The structure of the RNA molecule was described by R.W. Holley in 1965.

 

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RNA, abbreviation of ribonucleic acid, complex compound of high molecular weight that functions in cellular protein synthesis and replaces DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) as a carrier of genetic codes in some viruses. RNA consists of ribose nucleotides (nitrogenous bases appended to a ribose sugar) attached by phosphodiester bonds, forming strands of varying lengths. The nitrogenous bases in RNA are adenine, guanine, cytosine, and uracil, which replaces thymine in DNA.


The ribose sugar of RNA is a cyclical structure consisting of five carbons and one oxygen. The presence of a chemically reactive hydroxyl (−OH) group attached to the second carbon group in the ribose sugar molecule makes RNA prone to hydrolysis. This chemical lability of RNA, compared with DNA, which does not have a reactive −OH group in the same position on the sugar moiety (deoxyribose), is thought to be one reason why DNA evolved to be the preferred carrier of genetic information in most organisms. The structure of the RNA molecule was described by R.W. Holley in 1965.

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