Sanofi has reached an agreement to develop and commercialise an experimental vaccine candidate for extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli developed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals.
Under the terms of the deal, Sanofi will pay the Johnson & Johnson unit $175m upfront, followed by development and commercial milestones. Both parties will co-fund current and future research and development costs.
Extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli is a common gram-negative bacterial pathogen in humans and a leading cause of sepsis, particularly in older adults.
Antimicrobial resistant (AMR) E. coli strains are also an ongoing healthcare concern, with extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli a major driver behind the global AMR crisis, which has been declared by the World Health Organization as one of the top ten threats to global public health.
Associated with the deaths of 4.95 million people in 2019, AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change and adapt to antibiotics over time. As a result, infections become harder to treat and the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death increases.
The ongoing late-stage E.mbrace trial, which Janssen started in 2021, is evaluating the efficacy of the 9-valent extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli vaccine (ExPEC9V) compared to placebo in the prevention of invasive E. coli disease caused by ExPEC9V O-serotypes.
Thomas Triomphe, executive vice president, vaccines at Sanofi, said: “E. coli is a significant cause of sepsis, mortality and AMR in older adults, and the number of cases is rising as the population ages.”
He continued: “This agreement with Janssen aims to positively impact public health by reducing hospitalisation costs and the burden on health systems associated with ExPEC and help older adults around the world to live longer, healthier lives.”
The deal comes less than a month after Sanofi partnered with Ad Scientiam to launch an international, multicentre, longitudinal study evaluating the ability of medical software MSCopilot to assess disability progression in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).
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