{"id":378702,"date":"2023-12-12T12:15:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T17:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/ftc-in-unusual-move-leads-sanofi-to-terminate-a-drug-research-deal\/"},"modified":"2023-12-13T06:12:44","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T11:12:44","slug":"ftc-in-unusual-move-leads-sanofi-to-terminate-a-drug-research-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/ftc-in-unusual-move-leads-sanofi-to-terminate-a-drug-research-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"FTC, in unusual move, leads Sanofi to terminate a drug research deal","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/ftc-in-unusual-move-leads-sanofi-to-terminate-a-drug-research-deal.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<h3>Dive Brief:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Sanofi terminated a licensing deal with biotechnology company Maze Therapeutics Monday after the Federal Trade Commission <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/news-events\/news\/press-releases\/2023\/12\/ftc-seeks-block-sanofis-acquisition-rare-disease-drug-threatens-sanofis-monopoly?utm_source=govdelivery\">filed a lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0alleging that the collaboration was designed to extend the French drugmaker\u2019s monopoly in treating a rare disorder known as Pompe disease.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The scuttled deal came on the same day that the regulator gave final clearance to <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pfizer.com\/news\/press-release\/press-release-detail\/pfizer-receives-all-required-regulatory-approvals-complete\">Pfizer\u2019s $43 billion acquisition of Seagen<\/a>, which had faced <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biopharmadive.com\/news\/pfizer-refile-ftc-seagen-deal-paperwork-hsr\/652962\/\">close scrutiny<\/a> from the antitrust regulator. To ease the FTC\u2019s concerns, Pfizer has agreed to donate royalties from sales of the cancer drug Bavencio\u00a0to the American Association for Cancer Research.<\/li>\n<li>The FTC\u2019s challenge to Sanofi, and Pfizer\u2019s donation, are the latest sign of the regulator\u2019s interest in cracking down on deals it sees as anticompetitive as well as its <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biopharmadive.com\/news\/ftc-pharma-biotech-deal-scrutiny-slaughter\/601577\/\">embrace of new theories of how consumers could be harmed<\/a> by them. But industry executives and investors have warned that tighter scrutiny could threaten dealmaking as well as critical funding for drug startups.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Dive Insight:<\/h3>\n<p>The lawsuit to stop a collaboration for an experimental drug in early testing was unusual. In the past, the FTC has largely been focused on overlaps between marketed or late-stage drugs. When it believed combinations could lead to higher prices or fewer products, the regulator would force companies to divest one or more of those assets.<\/p>\n<p>However, FTC leaders have signaled in recent years that they are expanding their views of how consumers can be harmed by combinations involving drugs in earlier stages of development. Threatening to block Sanofi\u2019s deal with Maze is a prime example.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sanofi already markets three treatments for Pompe disease, while Amicus Therapeutics has a medicine for those whose symptoms aren\u2019t improving on drugs like Sanofi\u2019s. Maze, a venture capital-backed startup, has been developing a different type of treatment. Like other young biotechs, it <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biopharmadive.com\/news\/maze-sanofi-pompe-deal-rights-gys1\/648985\/\">forged a pact with a large pharmaceutical partner, Sanofi<\/a>, to help fund the costs of development. The May deal handed Maze $150 million in cash and equity investment, and could have resulted in up to $750 million in total payouts.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In signing the deal, Maze said it believed Sanofi\u2019s experience in treating Pompe patients would help it successfully bring the treatment to market.<\/p>\n<p>The FTC viewed the transaction differently, claiming the deal would \u201celiminate a nascent competitor poised to challenge Sanofi\u2019s monopoly in the Pompe disease therapy market.\u201d\u00a0Licensing the drug also would \u201creduce innovation competition to develop new Pompe drugs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In so doing, the FTC appears to be embracing theories of consumer harm that economists have developed in recent years. One such theory is that a research deal like Maze\u2019s <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/hbr.org\/2016\/08\/research-innovation-suffers-when-drug-companies-merge\">could discourage other drugmakers<\/a>\u00a0from researching new Pompe medicines, while another is that an early-stage project is <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/papers.ssrn.com\/sol3\/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3241707\">less likely to advance<\/a> if it\u2019s in the hands of a big company with overlapping treatments.<\/p>\n<p>The Maze deal \u201cthreatens to deprive patients of a new, innovative treatment and maintain a status quo of exorbitant pricing for essential life-saving medicines,\u201d said Nate Soderstrom, acting deputy director of the FTC\u2019s Bureau of Competition, in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than challenge the FTC\u2019s lawsuit, Sanofi decided to terminate the deal instead. In a statement, Sanofi said the \u201cdelay associated with a long litigation\u201d led it to conclude that \u201cit would not be in the best interests of patients to contest [the lawsuit].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Maze partnership was designed to apply Sanofi\u2019s resources, knowledge, and expertise to accelerate the development of [Maze\u2019s medicine], with the hope of addressing unmet medical needs for this devastating condition,\u201d Sanofi said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>In a separate statement, Maze CEO Jason Coloma called the FTC\u2019s challenge \u201cunprecedented.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe entered into this deal with Sanofi because we believed, and continue to believe, that Sanofi has the optimal resources, expertise and motivation to advance the program forward,\u201d and that its stewardship \u201cis in the best interest of patients suffering from Pompe disease,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul class=\"plato-post-bottom-links\">\n<li class=\"plato-post-bottom-link-amplifi\">SEO Powered Content &amp; PR Distribution. <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amplifipr.com\">Get Amplified Today.<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"plato-post-bottom-link-platodata-network\">PlatoData.Network Vertical Generative Ai. Empower Yourself. <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/platodata.network\">Access Here.<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"plato-post-bottom-link-platoaistream\">PlatoAiStream. Web3 Intelligence. 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Biotech and Clinical Trials Intelligence. <a href=\"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Access Here.<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"plato-post-bottom-link-source\"><span>Source:<\/span> <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.biopharmadive.com\/news\/ftc-sanofi-maze-lawsuit-pompe-biotech-deal\/702234\/\">https:\/\/www.biopharmadive.com\/news\/ftc-sanofi-maze-lawsuit-pompe-biotech-deal\/702234\/<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dive Brief: Sanofi terminated a licensing deal with biotechnology company Maze Therapeutics Monday after the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit\u00a0alleging that the collaboration was designed to extend the French drugmaker\u2019s monopoly in treating a rare disorder known as Pompe disease.\u00a0 The scuttled deal came on the same day that the regulator gave final clearance [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":2,"featured_media":378705,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"acf":[],"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378702"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378702"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":378704,"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378702\/revisions\/378704"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}