Sanofi has partnered with Translate Bio since 2018 on mRNA vaccines; most recently with a COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
Coming on the back of its announcement to build an mRNA Center of Excellence, Sanofi says the acquisition will help accelerate development of mRNA vaccines and therapeutics. Earlier this year, it also acquired Cambridge, Massachusetts mRNA biotech Tidal Therapeutics.
Translate Bio: platform for mRNA research
Sanofi entered a collaboration with Lexington, Massachusetts Translate Bio to develop mRNA vaccines back in 2018: notably expanding the partnership to a COVID-19 vaccine last year which is currently in a Phase 1/2 study (with results expected in Q3 2021).
A second mRNA clinical trial is ongoing for an mRNA seasonal influenza vaccine Phase 1 trial (results due in Q4 2021).
On the therapeutic side, Translate Bio has an early-stage pipeline in cystic fibrosis and other rare pulmonary diseases. In addition, discovery work is ongoing in diseases that affect the liver, and Translate Bio’s MRT platform may be applied to various classes of treatments, such as therapeutic antibodies or vaccines in areas such as oncology.
“Translate Bio adds an mRNA technology platform and strong capabilities to our research, further advancing our ability to explore the promise of this technology to develop both best-in-class vaccines and therapeutics,” said Paul Hudson, Sanofi CEO. “A fully owned platform allows us to develop additional opportunities in the fast-evolving mRNA space. We will also be able to accelerate our existing partnered programs already under development. Our goal is to unlock the potential of mRNA in other strategic areas such as immunology, oncology, and rare diseases in addition to vaccines.”