Sanofi to buy biopharmaceutical group Kymab for up to $1.45bn

The French pharmaceutical company said on Monday that it will make an upfront payment of around $1.1bn and up to $350m upon the achievement of certain milestones.

Kymab is focused on immune-mediated diseases and immuno-oncology therapeutics. The deal will give Sanofi full global rights to KY1005, a fully human monoclonal antibody that has a novel mechanism of action.

Sanofi’s chief executive officer Paul Hudson said: "The Kymab acquisition adds KY1005 to our dynamic pipeline, a potential first-in-class treatment for a range of immune and inflammatory diseases. The novel mechanism of action may provide treatment for patients with suboptimal responses to available therapies.

"We understand from our ongoing work in debilitating immunological diseases how critical it is to find the right treatment for each patient. We look forward to rapidly developing this investigational medicine."