Ropes & Gray Advises Sanofi in Acquisition of Dren Bio’s Bispecific Antibody-Based Program in Immunology Deal Worth Up to $1.9 Billion

In The News
March 20, 2025

Ropes & Gray represented Sanofi in an agreement to acquire Dren Bio’s deep B-cell depleter program, DR-0201. The targeted bispecific myeloid cell engager has the potential to reset the adaptive immune system and might lead to sustained treatment-free remission in patients with refractory B-cell mediated autoimmune diseases such as lupus, where significant unmet medical needs exist. The deal was announced on March 20.

Under the agreement Sanofi will acquire DR-0201 through the acquisition of the Dren Bio affiliate Dren-0201 for an upfront payment of $600 million and potential future payments totaling $1.3 billion upon achievement of certain development and launch milestones. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025.

The Ropes & Gray team was led by life sciences licensing partner Abigail Gregor, mergers & acquisitions partner Matt Byron and IP transaction associate Dan Freshman and included tax partner Scott Pinarchick, employment & benefits partner Renata Ferrari and IP transactions counsel Joshua Talicska, mergers & acquisitions associate Alexandra Charron and IP transactions associate Giancarlo Lee.