Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
In January 2022, South Korea's ABL Bio granted Sanofi an exclusive worldwide license to ABL301 (later Sanofi code SAR446159), a bispecific antibody pairing an anti-alpha-synuclein antibody with ABL Bio's Grabody-B (IGF1R) blood-brain-barrier shuttle for Parkinson's disease. ABL Bio received $75M upfront (paid February 25, 2022 following U.S. HSR antitrust clearance, making the agreement effective) and was eligible for up to $985M in development, regulatory and commercial milestones plus royalties; ABL led preclinical work and the Phase 1 study while Sanofi took global development. ABL Bio booked a $20M GLP-tox milestone in September 2022 and had received roughly $125M in total payments by mid-2025. The Phase 1 trial (NCT05756920, December 2022-April 2025, 91 healthy adults) completed with a clean safety/tolerability profile, announced September 1, 2025, after which Sanofi assumed trial sponsorship. In January 2026, however, Sanofi removed SAR446159/ABL301 from its Phase 1 pipeline, deprioritizing the program despite the positive Phase 1 safety readout. The license economics already paid to ABL Bio are unaffected, but Sanofi's discontinuation ends the asset's forward development under this agreement.