Serbian scientists sell autoimmune disease and cancer treatment for USD 1.9 billion – Sanofi buys biopharma company Dren Bio

Pharma-major Sanofi has acquired Serbian-founded biopharmaceutical company Dren Bio for up to USD 1.9 billion.

Dren Bio is headquartered in San Francisco and it was founded by Serbian scientists.

As said in a joint statement by the companies, this acquisition is a major milestone for the Serbian biotech sector and highlights the growing international recognition of innovations emerging from the region, reports bne IntelliNews.

The agreement sees Sanofi acquire Dren Bio’s autoimmune disease treatment, DR-0201, a targeted bispecific myeloid cell activator. The drug, which has shown strong B-cell depletion in early clinical studies, is being investigated for a variety of autoimmune diseases and malignancies.

Sanofi will pay USD 600 million upfront, with the remaining amount contingent on the drug’s clinical success, reaching up to USD 1.9 billion in total.

– Deep B-cell depletion is at the frontier of treating autoimmune diseases and using the myeloid cell engager DR-0201 has the potential to elevate the treatment effect for patients, in particular patients refractory to existing treatments – said Houman Ashrafian, head of research and development at Sanofi.

Founded in 2019 by Serbian scientists Nenad Tomasevic and Ivan Trifunovic, Dren Bio is a private, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. The name Dren reflects the company’s Serbian roots, referencing the dogwood tree, known locally for its health benefits.

Tomasevic, a graduate of the Faculty of Chemistry, is recognized as one of Serbia’s most successful entrepreneurs in biotechnology.

– It has been a privilege to advance our lead platform program, DR-0201, into clinical development. Sanofi, as a leader in immune depletion and immunology, is ideally positioned to realize the full potential of deep B-cell depletion and immune resetting for autoimmune patients – Tomasevic said.

Dren Bio has raised several rounds of venture capital. In 2022, it announced the completion of a USD 65 million Series B financing, raised its total capital received to over USD 156 million. The Series B financing was co-led by Aisling Capital and HBM Healthcare Investments alongside several new and existing investors.

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Dren Bio

Sanofi

Nenad Tomašević

Ivan Trifunović

autoimmune disease treatment

DR 0201

acquisition

sale

autoimmune diseases

malignant disease treatment

innovative therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases