Sonoma Biotherapeutics Receives $45-Million Milestone Payment From Regeneron 

Sonoma Biotherapeutics, Inc. recently announced it has received a $45-million milestone payment from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., under the terms of its active collaboration to discover, develop and commercialize engineered T_reg therapies for autoimmune diseases.

“This payment marks a significant milestone in our evolution as a company and our collaboration with Regeneron, which has been going extremely well,” said Jeff Bluestone, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Sonoma Bio. “The cutting-edge Regeneron technology for target identification and animal models, combined with Sonoma Bio’s T_reg and cell therapy expertise, has enabled an effective collaboration in developing new treatment options for patients suffering from devastating autoimmune diseases.”

In March 2023, Sonoma Bio entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Regeneron to research, develop and commercialize T_reg cell therapies for inflammatory bowel disease and two other undisclosed indications, with a Regeneron option for a fifth indication. The collaboration integrates Regeneron’s industry-leading VelociSuite technologies for the discovery and characterization of fully human antibodies and T cell receptors (TCRs) with Sonoma Bio’s pioneering approach to developing and manufacturing gene-modified T_reg cell therapies.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sonoma Bio received $75 million in upfront payments, which included a $30 million equity investment in Sonoma Bio by Regeneron. Sonoma Bio was also eligible to receive an additional $45 million development milestone payment, which has now been achieved. The parties are equally co-funding research and development for all potential products and will share equally any future commercial expenses and profits. Regeneron will have the option to lead late-stage development and commercialization on all products globally, with Sonoma retaining rights to co-promote all such products in the US.

Sonoma Bio continues to retain full ownership of its lead T_reg cell therapy candidate, SBT-77-7101, and other programs in development. The company has two ongoing Phase 1 trials of SBT-77-7101 in rheumatoid arthritis and hidradenitis suppurativa.

Sonoma Biotherapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing engineered regulatory T cell (T_reg) therapies to treat serious autoimmune and inflammatory diseases by restoring balance to the immune system. Founded by pioneers in T_reg biology and cell therapy, the company is employing proprietary platform technologies and approaches to develop a new generation of targeted and durable T_reg cell therapies. Sonoma Biotherapeutics is based in South San Francisco and Seattle. For more information, visit sonomabio.com.