Sanofi has signed a multi-program strategic collaboration with Earendil Labs to discover and develop bispecific antibodies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, continuing its aggressive push to restock immunology pipelines through platform-driven partnerships.
Under the agreement, Earendil is eligible to receive up to $160 million in upfront and near-term payments tied to early program milestones. The total deal value could reach $2.56 billion, including development and commercial milestones, with tiered royalties rising to the low double digits on net sales. Sanofi will assume responsibility for clinical development and global commercialization of any candidates that emerge from the collaboration.
The partnership centers on Earendil’s AI-enabled biologics discovery platform, which combines predictive protein modeling with high-throughput experimental validation to design and optimize complex antibody formats. While specific targets were not disclosed, the deal structure points to a portfolio-style collaboration, giving Sanofi optionality across multiple autoimmune programs rather than a single asset bet.
The Earendil deal reinforces a broader immunology strategy that increasingly prioritizes bispecific and multispecific antibodies as next-generation alternatives to conventional monoclonals. As autoimmune markets become more crowded and response rates plateau, pharma companies are turning to engineered biologics that can modulate multiple pathways simultaneously to deliver deeper or more durable disease control.
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The deal also provides validation of its technology at scale and a clear path to translate discovery-stage assets into global development programs without building late-stage infrastructure. The company retains economics through milestones and royalties while leveraging Sanofi’s clinical, regulatory, and commercial capabilities.
As autoimmune drug development heads into 2026, the Sanofi–Earendil pact adds to a string of high-value collaborations signaling that AI-driven biologics discovery and bispecific formats are becoming core pillars, not side bets, of big pharma R&D strategy.
