Sanofi will gain exclusivity rights to Ventyx Biosciences’ CNS-penetrant candidate VTX3232 as part of a $27m deal.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sanofi will buy 70,601 shares of Ventyx’s Series A non-voting convertible preferred stock at $3.82 per share of common stock. As per the 23 September press release, each share of preferred stock is “initially convertible” into 100 shares of common stock. The purchase, which is expected to be sufficient to fund operations into H2 2026, is set to finalise within the day.

In return, Sanofi will gain an exclusive right to first negotiation for the candidate.

The announcement caused Ventyx’s stock prices to increase by 14.8% when the market opened on 23 September. The company’s stock price remains considerably lower than a year ago, having dropped by 92.2% since 25 September 2023.

“Sanofi is a global leader in immunological and inflammatory diseases, and we believe this transaction is a recognition that VTX3232 could potentially offer a disease-modifying approach for the treatment of several neuroinflammatory conditions with high unmet medical need,” said Ventyx CEO Raju Mohan.

VTX3232 is an orally administered inhibitor of NACHT, LRR and PYD domains-containing protein 3 (NLRP3), a protein integral to immunity and inflammation. The small molecule CNS-penetrant is under development for potential uses across several neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, obesity, and multiple sclerosis.

After sharing positive topline data from a Phase I single and multiple ascending dose study of VTX3232 in healthy adult volunteers, the biopharma has continued to make strides with the CNS-penetrant drug. The company will also run a Phase IIa study (NCT06556173) of VTX3232 for Parkinson’s disease and a Phase IIa study for patients with obesity and elevated cardiometabolic risk both initiating in H2 2024, with data expected in 2025.

In a 6 September press release, Ventyx shared that it initiated dosing in the Phase IIa Parkinson’s disease study. The open-label study is expecting to enrol ten patients who will be evaluated for a 28-day treatment period. Alongside the study’s primary endpoint of incidence of adverse and serious adverse events, the study will assess pharmacokinetics and biomarkers in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) as a secondary endpoint.

While the $27m equity is Sanofi’s latest investment in a growing portfolio of investments, the pharma giant’s recent efforts have been bolstering its manufacturing capabilities. In May, Sanofi splashed out $1.07bn to expand its biomanufacturing capacities at its sites in France. Soon after in August, Sanofi invested $1.4bn to increase its insulin production capabilities by expanding its existing facility in Frankfurt, Germany. The site is expected to become operational in 2029.