Kali Therapeutics signs deal with Sanofi to develop autoimmune treatment

March 23 (Reuters) – Kali Therapeutics said on Monday it has entered into a licensing agreement with French drugmaker Sanofi to develop the privately held firm’s experimental treatment for several autoimmune diseases.

Here are the details:

* Under the deal, Sanofi will obtain global rights to KT501,a tri-specific antibody utilizing Kali Therapeutics’ proprietarydiscovery and research platform. * Kali Therapeutics will receive $180 million in upfront andnear-term payments and is eligible for up to $1.05 billion indevelopment and commercial milestone payments. * If the drug is approved, the company will also receivetiered royalties on product sales ranging from the high-singledigits to double digits. * KT501 is currently being tested in an early-stage study inrheumatoid arthritis patients to assess its safety and how wellthe drug was tolerated. * Studies in non-human primates showed KT501 stronglyreduced a type of white blood cells called B cell, whilelimiting harmful immune reactions that can happen with somesimilar treatments, Kali said. * The drug developer, which focuses on next-generationbiologics, said KT501 is designed to target and modulate immunecells that trigger autoimmune disorders, a category thatincludes conditions such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. * Sanofi already markets Kevzara, an approved rheumatoidarthritis drug developed with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, and isalso advancing new anti-inflammatory candidates.

(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole and Kunal Das in Bengaluru)