Sanofi and UCB in immune-mediated diseases research partnership

French pharma major Sanofi (Euronext: SAN) and UCB (Euronext Brussels: UCB), Belgium’s largest drugmaker, have entered into a scientific and strategic collaboration for the discovery and development of innovative anti-inflammatory small molecules, which have the potential to treat a wide range of immune-mediated diseases in areas such as gastroenterology and arthritis.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sanofi and UCB will share costs and profits on a 50/50 basis. UCB will be entitled to initial upfront, preclinical and clinical development milestone payments from Sanofi, potentially exceeding 100 million euros ($138.6 million). UCB’s shares edged up 0.7% to 58.78 in early trading.

“Poorly understood” disease category