NEW YORK – Sonoma Biotherapeutics on Wednesday announced that it has received a $45 million milestone payment from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals related to a collaboration and license agreement the two companies inked last year focused on developing engineered regulatory T-cell (Treg) therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
In the March 2023 deal, Regeneron paid Sonoma $75 million upfront, including a $30 million equity investment. Sonoma, located in South San Francisco, California, and Seattle, was also eligible to receive $45 million if it met certain development milestones. A Sonoma spokesperson confirmed that the payment was triggered by the firm achieving development milestones related to an unspecified autologous Tregcell therapy.
Sonoma and Regeneron are equally sharing R&D and commercialization expenses and profits for the drugs they're developing. Regeneron has the option to take over late-stage development and commercialization globally, while Sonoma retains copromotion rights in the US.
To develop Treg cell therapies, Regeneron will use its VelociSuite technologies to discover and characterize fully human antibodies and T-cell receptors, and Sonoma will employ its expertise in developing and manufacturing gene-modified Treg cell therapies. Using these approaches, the companies are developing Treg cell therapies for inflammatory and bowel diseases and two undisclosed indications. In the deal, Regeneron has the option to take over late-stage development and commercialization for a fifth indication.
The deal with Tarrytown, New York-headquartered Regeneron doesn't comprise SBT-77-7101, Sonoma's lead Treg cell therapy candidate, which it is testing in Phase I trials involving patients with rheumatoid arthritis and hidradenitis suppurativa. Sonoma retains full ownership of this and other Treg programs in its pipeline.