Sanofi licenses gusacitinib from Formation Bio

New York-based Formation Bio, an AI-native pharma company focused on accelerating drug development, revealed that its subsidiary Libertas Bio has licensed gusacitinib to Sanofi (Euronext: SAN), expanding the partnership between the companies.

Sanofi will explore the dual JAK/SYK inhibitor  potential in a new indication not previously studied through a Phase I study. Formation has taken gusacitinib into Phase III development for chronic hand eczema.

The deal could be worth up to 545 million euros ($629.3 million), including upfront and milestone payments, as well as low to mid-teen royalties based on future sales. licensing deal comes about a year after the pair first joined forces. Last May, Formation, along with ChatGPT developer OpenAI, agreed to help Sanofi integrate AI into its drug development workflow, including by creating customised AI agents and models.