Sanofi (SNY) Exercises License Extension Option to Nurix’s (NRIX) STAT6 Program

Nurix Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: NRIX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of targeted protein degradation medicines, announced today that Sanofi has exercised its option to exclusively license Nurix’s STAT6 program, including the drug development candidate NX-3911, an oral, highly selective STAT6 degrader. STAT6 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 6) plays a central role in type 2 inflammation, which drives diseases such as atopic dermatitis and asthma.

“Using our DEL-AI platform, we identified novel DEL-derived chemical matter from which we developed, together with Sanofi, a potential best-in-class STAT6 degrader, NX-3911, which achieves rapid and complete STAT6 degradation,” said Gwenn M. Hansen, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Nurix. “NX-3911 is a potent, selective, orally administered degrader of STAT6 that shows robust efficacy in multiple preclinical models of atopic dermatitis and asthma, demonstrating anti-inflammatory efficacy in animal models equivalent to a STAT6 gene knockout.”

“This is the second license extension of a Nurix autoimmune disease program by Sanofi in the last 90 days, highlighting the power of our proprietary DEL-AI drug discovery platform to fuel the discovery of novel medicines to a range of therapeutically important targets like STAT6,” said Arthur T. Sands, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Nurix. “Notably, our STAT6 program also includes additional differentiated discovery-stage assets, which could represent an additional product opportunity within our Sanofi collaboration.”

Under the 2019 collaboration agreement, Nurix is deploying its proprietary DEL-AI drug discovery platform to identify novel agents that use E3 ligases to induce degradation of specified drug targets. Sanofi has an option to license drug candidates resulting from the work, and Nurix retains its option to co-develop and co-promote up to two future products in the United States after studies to assess dosing, efficacy, and safety that provide clinical proof of concept. For those programs for which Nurix exercises its option to co-develop and co-promote, the parties will split U.S profits and losses evenly and Nurix will be eligible to receive royalties on ex-U.S. sales on all optioned products. For programs that Nurix does not exercise its option, Nurix will receive milestones and royalties based on global development and sales. Upon signing the agreement in December 2019, Sanofi made an upfront payment of $55 million and subsequently paid an additional $22 million one year later to expand the scope of the collaboration. To date, Nurix has received a total of $127 million from Sanofi as part of this collaboration and remains eligible for up to $465 million in development, regulatory, and commercial milestones per licensed program as well as royalties on future sales.

About STAT6

STAT6 is a key transcription factor within the IL-4/IL-13 signaling pathways which act as drivers of inflammation in allergic conditions. Degrading STAT6 as a therapeutic strategy is supported by insights from mouse and human genetic studies as well as through clinical validation with either biologics targeting IL4/13 or small molecule inhibitors targeting the Janus Kinase (JAK) family. JAK proteins, which are upstream of STAT6, mediate the signaling of multiple cytokines, and as a result, JAK inhibition is associated with safety concerns. A potent, selective, and orally administered STAT6 degrader offers the potential for antibody-like efficacy and safety, with the convenience of a pill.

You May Also Be Interested In

• Barclays Starts Centrus Energy Corp. (LEU) at Equalweight
• H.C. Wainwright Reiterates Buy Rating on Elicio Therapeutics (ELTX)
• H.C. Wainwright Reiterates Neutral Rating on Traws Pharma Inc. (TRAW)