Ventyx Biosciences Announces $27-Million Strategic Investment From Sanofi

Ventyx Biosciences, Inc. recently announced Sanofi has agreed to make a $27-million strategic investment in the company at an as-converted price of $3.8243 per share of common stock, pursuant to which Sanofi will purchase 70,601 of the Company’s Series A non-voting convertible preferred stock, each share of which is initially convertible into 100 shares of common stock. The closing of the transaction is expected to occur on September 23, 2024.

“We are very pleased with this strategic investment from Sanofi,” said Raju Mohan, Chief Executive Officer. “Sanofi is a global leader in immunological and inflammatory diseases, and we believe this transaction is a recognition that VTX3232 could potentially offer a disease-modifying approach for the treatment of a number of neuroinflammatory conditions with high unmet medical need. We look forward to strengthening our relationship with Sanofi as the VTX3232 clinical programs progress, with data from the Phase 2a trial in patients with early Parkinson’s disease and data from the Phase 2 trial in subjects with obesity and additional cardiometabolic risk factors, both expected in 2025.”

In connection with the equity investment, the company has agreed to grant Sanofi an exclusive right of first negotiation with respect to certain VTX3232 program rights.

The proceeds from the investment are expected to further strengthen the company’s cash position, and current cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, inclusive of the proceeds from the investment, are expected to be sufficient to fund planned operations into at least the second half of 2026.

VTX3232 is an oral, selective, CNS-penetrant NLRP3 inhibitor with potential therapeutic utility for a range of neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, cardiometabolic disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and multiple sclerosis, among others. In the first quarter of this year, Ventyx announced results from a Phase 1 trial of VTX3232 in adult healthy volunteers where steady-state exposures achieved with once-daily doses of VTX3232 exceeded the interleukin-1β (IL-1β) IC₉₀ in both plasma and cerebrospinal fluid over 24 hours. We believe these data support the potential for VTX3232 to emerge as a best-in-class CNS-penetrant NLRP3 inhibitor for the treatment of neuroinflammatory diseases. Current development plans for VTX3232 include a Phase 2a trial in patients with early Parkinson’s disease and a Phase 2 trial in subjects with obesity and additional cardiometabolic risk factors. Data from both trials are expected in 2025.

Ventyx is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative oral medicines for patients living with autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. We believe our ability to efficiently discover and develop differentiated drug candidates will allow us to address important unmet medical needs with novel oral therapies that can shift inflammation and immunology markets from injectable to oral drugs. Our current pipeline includes internally discovered clinical programs targeting NLRP3, S1P1R and TYK2, positioning us to become a leader in the development of oral immunology therapies for peripheral and neuroinflammatory diseases. Ventyx is headquartered in San Diego, California. For more information, visit www.ventyxbio.com.