Sanofi strikes USD2.56B AI deal with Earendil Labs for autoimmune bispecifics

USA—French drugmaker Sanofi has entered into a major collaboration with Earendil Labs, a startup affiliated with Helixon Therapeutics, to develop bispecific antibodies targeting autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

The partnership, announced just before the JP Morgan 2026 Healthcare Conference, could be worth up to USD 2.56 billion.

Under the deal, Sanofi will leverage Earendil’s artificial intelligence (AI)-powered drug discovery platform to support the design and development of multiple new therapeutic assets.

Earendil’s proprietary platform integrates predictive protein modeling with high-throughput experimental validation, enabling researchers to identify promising bispecific candidates and refine their efficacy with greater precision.

As part of the agreement, Sanofi will pay USD 160 million in upfront and near-term payments.

The French drugmaker has also committed to potential milestone payments of up to USD 2.4 billion in exchange for exclusive global rights to any therapies that emerge from the collaboration.

While Sanofi will retain full ownership of any resulting products that reach the market, Earendil will receive tiered royalties on net product sales, likely in the low double-digit range.

This latest alliance follows Sanofi’s earlier partnership with Helixon’s affiliates.

In April 2025, the company secured global rights to two Earendil-developed bispecific assets—HXN-1002, aimed at treating ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, and HXN-1003, targeting colitis and skin inflammation.

That deal could total up to USD 1.8 billion if all milestones are achieved.

Sanofi’s expanding strategy to reinforce its immunology portfolio has seen several high-value deals in recent months.

In December 2025 alone, the company announced two substantial licensing agreements—worth USD 1.7 billion and USD 1.04 billion—with Dren Bio and ADEL, respectively, to strengthen its pipeline of next-generation biologics.

The same month, Sanofi advanced its vaccine division through a USD 2.2 billion acquisition of Dynavax, a U.S.-based manufacturer of hepatitis B vaccines.

The acquisition came amid changing vaccination guidelines by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which recently revoked the universal hepatitis B vaccination recommendation for newborns—a move that attracted strong criticism from medical bodies.

As precision medicine continues to evolve, pharmaceutical companies are increasingly prioritizing targeted biologics such as bispecific antibodies.

These therapies offer enhanced specificity compared with traditional monoclonal antibodies, already proven successful in treating autoimmune disorders.

Other major players are also investing in bispecific research: Roche is testing its oncology drug Lunsumio (mosunetuzumab) in a Phase II trial for systemic lupus erythematosus, expected to conclude by late 2028.

Similarly, AbbVie is conducting a Phase III trial of its bispecific antibody, lutikizimab, for hidradenitis suppurativa after promising mid-stage results, while also exploring its potential in atopic dermatitis and ulcerative colitis.