Dec 12, 2023 - Business

Sanofi scraps $750 million drug deal, after FTC sues on antitrust grounds

Dan Primack

Illustration of a big shoe stepping on a pill — Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios

French pharma company Sanofi scrapped a $750 million drug licensing deal with California-based Maze Therapeutics, just hours after the FTC sued to block the arrangement.

Why it matters: This is a significant, and de facto successful, expansion of the Biden administration's "killer acquisition" theory, to a drug that's still in the early stages of development.

Details: The global licensing deal was for a Phase 1 drug candidate focused on a rare genetic condition called Pompe disease, and included $150 million in upfront cash and another $600 million in earnouts.

Maze, based in South San Francisco, has raised around $480 million in venture capital funding from such firms as Third Rock Ventures, Arch Venture Partners, GV, Alexandria Venture Investments, Foresite Capital, Terra Magnum Capital Partners, City Hill Ventures, a16z, General Catalyst, and Matrix Capital Management.
Sanofi, which has other Pompe disease treatments, said it disagrees with the FTC suit, but said a long litigation "would not be in the best interests of patients."

The bottom line: This must be raising eyebrows among biotech VCs, who often generate returns via these sorts of bio-bucks deals.

Add Axios on Google

Sanofi scraps $750 million drug deal, after FTC sues on antitrust grounds

What to read next