Atopic dermatitis readout drives Sanofi’s $1.1B takeout of Kymab

More than a decade after Kymab was first backed by the Wellcome Trust to derive drug candidates from an engineered mouse model, the company has accepted a $1.1 billion takeout offer from Sanofi that closely follows the biotech’s first clinical proof-of-concept readout.

The deal gives Sanofi (Euronext:SAN; NASDAQ:SNY) a first-in-class candidate targeting OX40L, KY1005, to treat atopic dermatitis, as well as Kymab Group Ltd.’s antibody platform, one other clinical candidate and a preclinical pipeline. The deal could grow in size by another $350 million in milestones...