ScionxBio has entered into a worldwide strategic collaboration and licensing agreement with Sanofi to develop longer-acting versions of selected mRNA therapeutics, combining the French pharmaceutical company’s mRNA expertise with ScionxBio’s technology for extending the duration of protein expression. The agreement will leverage ScionxBio’s proprietary TERA platform to optimize selected Sanofi mRNA candidates for extended exposure. The companies have not disclosed the therapeutic areas covered by the collaboration or the financial terms of the agreement.

Cambridge, UK-based ScionxBio is a privately held, preclinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing mRNA therapeutics with longer-lasting effects. Its TERA platform uses deep learning to analyze structure-activity relationships identified through high-throughput combinatorial screening, helping researchers design regulatory elements intended to improve RNA stability and reduce degradation.

The technology uses chemically synthesized regulatory elements to support sustained protein expression in vivo, addressing one of the challenges in mRNA drug development: maintaining therapeutic levels of protein for longer periods without requiring frequent administration. Under the agreement, ScionxBio will lead optimization of the selected candidates through in vivo validation. Sanofi will then assume responsibility for subsequent preclinical development, Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling studies, clinical development, manufacturing, and global commercialization. The collaboration is intended to explore applications in which prolonged protein expression could improve therapeutic outcomes. Potential areas of application for the TERA platform include inherited and acquired protein deficiencies, as well as chronic conditions that may benefit from sustained delivery of cardiometabolic or immune-modulating proteins. The specific indications included in the Sanofi agreement have not been disclosed.

For ScionxBio, the partnership provides an opportunity to advance its RNA technology alongside an established pharmaceutical company’s development and commercialization capabilities. “This collaboration with Sanofi is a defining milestone for our company,” says Dr. Adi Gilboa-Geffen, CEO of ScionxBio. She says the agreement supports the potential of the company’s AI-driven platform to address limitations in mRNA durability and advance RNA-based treatments for patients with protein deficiencies and chronic conditions.

Dr. Yaniv Erlich, chairman of the board and co-founder of ScionxBio, says the collaboration would help move the company’s technology toward clinical application while supporting the development of its pipeline.

The agreement reflects continued interest in expanding the therapeutic potential of RNA medicines beyond applications requiring relatively short-lived protein expression. By engineering RNA molecules for greater stability and more sustained activity, ScionxBio aims to develop treatments that could provide longer-lasting biological effects. The collaboration’s progress will depend on the optimization and validation of the selected candidates, followed by the preclinical, clinical, and manufacturing work to be undertaken by Sanofi.

For more information, visit www.sanofi.com.