Paris-based Sanofi completes the acquisition of Vigil Neuroscience to add to Alzheimer’s treatment pipeline

French MedTech developer Sanofi announces the completion of its acquisition of Vigil Neuroscience, Inc. to add new investigational medicine to treat Alzheimer’s disease to the neurology pipeline.

In June 2024, Sanofi made a €34.5 million strategic investment in Vigil that included the exclusive right of first negotiation for an exclusive license, grant, or transfer of rights to research, develop, manufacture, and commercialise Virgil’s treatment.

Houman Ashrafian, MD, PhD, Head of Research and Development, Sanofi, said: “This acquisition is fully supporting Sanofi’s strategic focus on neurology and on advancing science and leveraging our expertise in immunology to solve areas of critical unmet need. TREM2 represents a compelling target at the intersection of immune dysregulation and neurodegeneration, particularly in people living with Alzheimer’s because they face devastating cognitive decline with limited treatment options. Vigil’s expertise is complementary to our capabilities in neurology and reinforces our dedication to developing innovative medicines to improve people’s lives. Vigil’s team are a welcome addition, and we look forward to working with them and the patient community.”

Sanofi is an R&D driven, AI-powered biopharma company committed to improving people’s lives and delivering compelling growth. They apply their understanding of the immune system to invent medicines and vaccines that treat and protect millions of people around the world, with an innovative pipeline that could benefit millions more.

Founded in 2020, Virgil is a U.S. clinical-stage BioTech company focused on developing treatments for both rare and common neurodegenerative diseases by restoring the vigilance of microglia, the sentinel immune cells of the brain. VGL101, their lead clinical candidate, is a fully human monoclonal antibody agonist targeting human triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) in people with adult-onset leukoencephalopathy with axonal spheroids and pigmented glia (ALSP), a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disease.

They are also developing VG-3927, a novel small molecule TREM2 agonist, to treat common neurodegenerative diseases associated with microglial dysfunction, with an initial focus on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in genetically defined subpopulations.

According to Sanofi, in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, microglial activation is dysregulated, leading to debris accumulation, chronic inflammation and neurodegeneration in the central nervous system. Activation of TREM2 has shown to promote the migration of microglial cells to sites of injury, enhance their capability for phagocytosis, proliferation, and survival. Consequently, this facilitates the prevention of neural degeneration that is frequently associated with adult-onset neurodegenerative diseases.

Currently approved therapies for Alzheimer’s disease do not stop or reverse the disease progression and there are stringent eligibility requirements for treatment. There is a critical need to develop more efficacious, safer, and convenient options for people living with Alzheimer’s disease.

Ivana Magovčević-Liebisch, PhD, JD, President & Chief Executive Officer, Vigil, said: “We are incredibly proud of the extraordinary and diverse team at Vigil and the progress we have made in developing innovative TREM2-based therapeutics. We look forward to joining forces with Sanofi’s team to leverage Sanofi’s resources, broad platform and far-reaching network to fully unlock and accelerate the development of VG-3927 for the potential treatment of Alzheimer’s disease – a devastating disease with significant unmet need.”

This acquisition strengthens Sanofi’s early-stage pipeline in neurology with VG-3927, which will be evaluated in a phase 2 clinical study in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, the acquisition of Vigil’s preclinical pipeline will further strengthen Sanofi’s research in various neurodegenerative diseases.

Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, Sanofi and Vigil have agreed to the following:

• Sanofi acquired all outstanding common shares of Vigil for €6.91 per share in cash at closing, representing an equity value of approximately €405 million (on a fully diluted basis)
• In addition, Vigil’s shareholders received a non-transferrable contingent value right (CVR) per Vigil share, which entitles its holder to receive a deferred cash payment of €1.73, conditioned upon the first commercial sale of VG-3927.

VGL101, Vigil’s second clinical programme, was not acquired by Sanofi. The acquisition of Vigil is not expected to impact Sanofi’s financial guidance for 2025.

The post Paris-based Sanofi completes the acquisition of Vigil Neuroscience to add to Alzheimer’s treatment pipeline appeared first on EU-Startups.