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Global Briefs: Sanofi, UCB, Teva & More 

A roundup of news from the large and mid-sized bio/pharmaceutical companies featuring Eli Lilly and Company, Sanofi, Daiichi Sankyo, Teva, Moderna, UCB, Alnylam, and Bavarian Nordic. Highlights below.  

For the latest news roundup on small and Emerging Pharma companies, see Biotech Briefs.
 
General 
* Moderna in $950-M Settlement for COVID & Respiratory Vaccines  
* Lilly Launches Direct Purchasing Platform for Obesity Drugs 
Partnering News 
* Sanofi, Sino Biopharm in $1.5-Bn Deal for Small-Molecule Blood Cancer Drug Candidate  
* UCB, Antengene in $1.1-Bn Autoimmune Disease Drug Pact 
* Alnylam, Tenya Therapeutics in $1.1-Bn Heart Disease Drug Pact 
* Teva Gets $400 M in Funding from Blackstone for Ulcerative Colitis mAbs 
* Daiichi Sankyo, Gaia Therapeutics Partner for Digital Therapeutic for Cholesterol 
Leadership Changes 
* Bavarian Nordic CEO Stepping Down

General 

Moderna in $950-M Settlement for COVID & Respiratory Vaccines  
Moderna has entered into a $950-settlement million settlement agreement with Arbutus Biopharma, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on infectious disease, and Genevant Sciences, a nucleic-acid drug-delivery company and subsidiary of Roivant, to resolve all litigation worldwide related to Moderna’s Spikevax, a COVID vaccine, and mResiva, a vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus. 

The settlement resolves all worldwide Arbutus/Genevant litigation related to Spikevax and mResiva and provides certainty going forward for Moderna’s full infectious disease portfolio, including mNexspike, a next-generation COVID vaccine, and mCombriax, a combination vaccine for COVID and influenza, and its future vaccine pipeline, with no future royalties owed.  

Under the agreement, Moderna will make a lump sum payment of $950 million in the third quarter of 2026. Moderna will appeal to a federal appeals court to argue its government-contractor immunity defense limits its liability to that amount under federal law (Section 1498). If Moderna ultimately prevails on that issue, no further payments will be due. If, however, Moderna is found liable, Moderna has agreed to make an additional payment of up to $1.3 billion within 90 days of that decision, depending on the scope of the decision. Thereafter, should Moderna prevail through further proceedings: whether en banc, at the US Supreme Court, or on remand to the district court, Arbutus/Genevant will refund the full payment plus interest, according to Moderna.  

Moderna expects to record a charge of $950 million in the first quarter of 2026 related to the settlement payment. The company has concluded that a loss related to the pending Section 1498 proceeding is not probable, and accordingly, expects no charge to be recorded. As a result of the settlement, Moderna expects to end 2026 with $4.5 billion to $5.0 billion in cash and cash equivalents and retains access to up to $900 million under its existing credit facility. The total projected liquidity available to the company at the end of 2026 will be $5.4 billion to $5.9 billion. 

Source: Moderna 

Lilly Launches Direct Purchasing Platform for Obesity Drugs 
Eli Lilly and Company has announced the launch of its Employer Connect platform to introduce new options to help close the access gap in US obesity care. The platform is designed to expand access to obesity care by lowering cost barriers for employees while giving employers greater cost predictability and transparency. Lilly’s employer access program is launching with over 15 independent program administrators and nationwide pharmacy support delivered through a dedicated network, including dispensing pharmacies, HealthDyne and CenterWell. Through this employer platform, Lilly’s Zepbound (tirzepatide) KwikPen is available from Lilly to network pharmacies at a discounted price for all doses. Final cost to the employer may vary based on their choice of pharmacy and program administrator, and out-of-pocket patient costs for employees will vary based on the cost-share model an employer chooses and the dispensing and service fees agreed to with independent program administrators. 

Source: Eli Lilly and Company 

Partnering News 

Sanofi, Sino Biopharm in $1.5-Bn Deal for Small-Molecule Blood Cancer Drug 
Sanofi and Sino Biopharmaceutical, a Hong Kong-based bio/pharmaceutical company, have entered an exclusive license agreement for the global development, manufacturing and commercialization of Sino’s JAK/ROCK inhibitor, rovadicitinib, a small-molecule drug for treating certain blood cancers, in a deal worth up to $1.5 billion ($135 million upfront and $1.4 billion in milestone payments). 

Rovadicitnib was approved for marketing by China’s National Medical Products Administration last month (February 2026) for the first-line treatment of adult patients with certain blood cancers: intermediate-2 or high-risk primary myelofibrosis, post-polycythemia vera myelofibrosis, or post-essential thrombocythemia myelofibrosis.The drug is also under clinical development for treating chronic graft-versus-host disease. In China, it has advanced to Phase III trials, and in the US, it has been approved for Phase II clinical studies.  

Under the agreement, Sino Biopharmaceutical’s subsidiary, Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Group, grants Sanofi an exclusive worldwide licence to develop, manufacture and commercialize rovadicitinib and is eligible to receive an upfront payment of $135 million plus potential development, regulatory, and sales milestone payments of up to $1.395 billion, as well as up to double-digit tiered royalties based on the annual net sales of rovadicitinib. The agreement is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory clearances. 

Source: Sino Biopharmaceutical 

UCB, Antengene in $1.1-Bn Autoimmune Disease Drug Pact 
UCB and Antengene Corporation, a Hong Kong-based commercial-stage bio/pharmaceutical company, have entered into an agreement that grants UCB a worldwide exclusive license to further develop, manufacture, and commercialize Antengene’s ATG-201, an autoimmune drug, and access to Antengene’s associated manufacturing technology in relation to ATG-201, in a deal worth up to $1.1 billion ($80 million upfront and $1.1 billion in milestone payments). 

ATG-201 is a a CD19/CD3 bispecific T-cell engager (TCE) antibody, targeting B cell-related autoimmune diseases. TCEs targeting B cell depletion are a class of therapeutic agents designed to selectively target and eliminate B cells, which play a role in various diseases, including autoimmune disorders and certain hematological cancers. Antengene plans to submit clinical trial applications for ATG‑201 in China and Australia in the first quarter of 2026. Antengene will complete first-in-human Phase I studies in these two jurisdictions and thereafter transfer further ATG-201 clinical and other development to UCB. 

Under the agreement, Antengene will receive upfront and near-term milestone payments of $80 million and would be eligible to receive future success-based development and commercial milestone payments of up to approximately $1.1 billion, as well as tiered royalties on future net sales. Further financial details of the agreement were not disclosed. 

Source: UCB  

Alnylam, Tenya Therapeutics in $1.1-Bn Heart Disease Drug Pact 
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Tenaya Therapeutics, a clinical-stage bio/pharmaceutical company focused on heart disease, have entered an agreement to discover human genetic targets for the potential development of disease-modifying treatments for cardiovascular diseases, in a deal worth up to $1.1 billion ($10 million upfront and $1.1 billion in milestone payments). 

Under the agreement, Tenaya Therapeutics will validate up to 15 gene targets. Tenaya will receive up to $10 million in the form of an upfront payment, in addition to reimbursement for related costs incurred over the two-year validation term. Alnylam will be responsible for all development and commercialization activities of therapeutics associated with the identified gene targets. Tenaya may be eligible to receive as much as $1.13 billion in development and commercial milestone payments from Alnylam should all genetic targets lead to approved therapeutics for cardiovascular disease. 

Source: Tenaya Therapeutics 

Teva Gets $400 M in Funding from Blackstone Ulcerative Colitis mAb 
Teva Pharmaceuticals and funds managed by Blackstone Life Sciences have announced a $400-million strategic funding agreement spread across four years to support the continued clinical development of duvakitug, a drug to treat ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD).  

Teva is co-developing and, subject to regulatory approval, will be co-commercializing this asset with Sanofi. Duvakitug is currently in Phase III clinical studies for the treatment of UC and CD.  

Under the agreement, Blackstone will provide Teva $400 million to fund ongoing and future development costs for duvakitug, spread over four years. As part of the funding arrangement and subject to the approval of duvakitug by the US Food and Drug Administration, Teva will pay Blackstone a milestone payment. Blackstone will be eligible for regulatory and commercial milestones as well as royalties on duvakitug worldwide sales, subject to customary terms and conditions. 

Source: Teva 

Daiichi Sankyo, Gaia Therapeutics Partner for Digital Therapeutic for Cholesterol 
Daiichi Sankyo and Gaia Therapeutics, a Hamburg, Germany-based digital therapeutics company, have announced an exclusive strategic partnership to commercialize Gaia’s lipodia, an investigational app-based treatment for adults managing hypercholesterolemia (i.e., high chollesterol), upon regulatory approval. 

The collaboration brings together Gaia’s expertise in developing clinically validated non-pharmacological interventions with Daiichi Sankyo’s experience in cardiovascular risk management and health. Under the agreement, Daiichi Sankyo Europe secures exclusive rights for lipodia, which marks a strategic expansion of its cardiovascular portfolio into digital therapeutics. 

Source: Daiichi Sankyo 

Leadership Changes 

Bavarian Nordic CEO Stepping Down 
Bavarian Nordic has announced that its CEO, Paul Chaplin, will step down and will continue in his role for the remainder of 2026, or until a successor has been identified. The Board of Directors has initiated the process to identify a new CEO. Chaplin has been with Bavarian Nordic since 1999 and was appointed CEO in 2014. He has led the development of the company’s smallpox and mpox vaccine. 

Source: Bavarian Nordic