Pharma-major Sanofi has acquired Serbian-founded biopharmaceutical company Dren Bio for up to $1.9bn, the companies announced in a press release on March 20.

This acquisition is a major milestone for the Serbian biotech sector and highlights the growing international recognition of innovations emerging from the region.

The agreement sees Sanofi acquire Dren Bio’s autoimmune disease treatment, DR-0201, a targeted bispecific myeloid cell activator. The drug, which has shown strong B-cell depletion in early clinical studies, is being investigated for a variety of autoimmune diseases and malignancies.

Sanofi will pay $600mn upfront, with the remaining amount contingent on the drug’s clinical success, reaching up to $1.9bn in total.

“Deep B-cell depletion is at the frontier of treating autoimmune diseases and using the myeloid cell engager DR-0201 has the potential to elevate the treatment effect for patients, in particular patients refractory to existing treatments," said Houman Ashrafian, head of research and development at Sanofi.

"This is yet another important step in Sanofi’s ambition to bring breakthrough medicines to patients, and further strengthens our robust pipeline focused on the immune system."

Founded in 2019 by Serbian scientists Nenad Tomašević and Ivan Trifunović, Dren Bio is a private, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. The name Dren reflects the company’s Serbian roots, referencing the dogwood tree, known locally for its health benefits.

Tomašević, a graduate of the Faculty of Chemistry, is recognised as one of Serbia’s most successful entrepreneurs in biotechnology. In a statement, he expressed pride in Dren Bio’s achievements.

“It has been a privilege to advance our lead platform programme, DR-0201, into clinical development. Sanofi, as a leader in immune depletion and immunology, is ideally positioned to realise the full potential of deep B-cell depletion and immune resetting for autoimmune patients.”

Dren Bio has raised several rounds of venture capital. In 2022, it announced the completion of a $65mn Series B financing, raised its total capital received to over $156mn. The Series B financing was co-led by Aisling Capital and HBM Healthcare Investments alongside several new and existing investors.