Sanofi Bets Big On mRNA Vaccines With Expanded Translate Pact

New Deal Could Be Worth Over $2.3bn

Sanofi and Translate Bio, which hope to advance their mRNA vaccine candidate into a first-in-human clinical trial in the fourth quarter of 2020, have significantly extended their collaboration in that field, with the French giant plonking down a whopping $425m upfront fee.

Money
Sanofi backs messenger RNA with bags of cash • Source: Shutterstock

Ahead of its closely watched R&D day, Sanofi has again expanded a pact with one of its key COVID-19 collaborators Translate Bio Inc. to develop messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines across all infectious disease areas, making a hefty upfront payment to close the deal.

The two companies have been partners since 2018 when they signed a deal to develop mRNA vaccines for up to...

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