Global biopharmaceutical company Sanofi has acquired privately owned, pre-clinical stage biotech company Tidal Therapeutics, which brings with it an mRNA-based approach for in vivo (inside the body) reprogramming of immune cells.
Tidal Therapeutics will expand Sanofi’s research capabilities in inflammatory diseases and immuno-oncology, with probable broad applicability to different disease areas as well.
The acquisition has cost Sanofi an upfront payment of $160m, which will go up to $310m upon realising certain milestones.
Sanofi global head of research and chief scientific officer Frank Nestle said: “We anticipate that this next generation, off-the-shelf approach has the potential to bring CAR-T cell therapy to a much broader patient population. We believe that the underlying mRNA targeting platform will create disruptive therapeutic approaches across a variety of oncology and autoimmune conditions.”
Tidal Therapeutics employs a new mRNA-based approach to in vivo reprogramming of immune cells, which is based on proprietary nanoparticles that deliver mRNA cargos to reprogramme a body’s immune cells.
The technology delivers the mRNA messages selectively to designated categories of cells inside the body, with primary applications aimed at certain varieties of immune cells.
The in vivo approach has been programmed to deliver similar efficacy to ex vivo (outside the body) approaches, where immune cells are modified genetically to augment their therapeutic properties (for instance the chimeric antigen receptor CAR-expressing T-cells), with the potential for outpatient dosing, repeat dosing and improved safety.
At present, ongoing pre-clinical programmes at Tidal Therapeutics include in vivo re-programming of T cells or other types of immune cells for cancer indications.
Tidal Therapeutics president and CEO Ulrik Nielsen said: “Teaming up with Sanofi gives us the opportunity to further develop our unique platform and rapidly apply it to ultimately help patients across a range of diseases.”