Sanofi Extends, Revamps Discovery Pact With Warp Drive

Sanofi SA has extended and revamped its existing discovery pact with Warp Drive Bio - a move that increases chances the French group will buy the Boston-based biotech if they successfully use its two computational platforms to find new oncology drugs and antibiotics based on natural products.

Privately-held Warp Drive Bio, which operates on the core principle that nature is the world's most powerful inventor of new drugs, exploits natural molecules and mechanisms to create novel therapies. Sanofi has been a major investor and strategic partner since the biotech's inception in 2012, when it was launched by Third Rock Ventures in a $125m private placing that included Greylock Partners as an investor