Sanofi and Revolution partner for cancer drug

Abstract

In its first major deal, Revolution Medicines will receive $50 million from Sanofi in exchange for sharing rights to its lead drug candidate, the SHP2 inhibitor RMC-4630. The Redwood City, Calif.-based firm could see another $500 million in milestone payments as the allosteric inhibitor winds toward the market. When Sanofi and Revolution begin clinical trials of RMC-4630 later this year, it will be the first time one of the biotech’s compounds is in human tests. Revolution was launched in 2015 based on technology developed in the labs of University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, organic chemist Martin D. Burke, who invented a machine to easily synthesize complex molecules—in some cases natural products never before synthesized. Revolution identified SHP2 as an intriguing oncology target within its first year of operation. In collaboration with University of California, San Francisco, medical oncologist Trever Bivona, its researchers figured out that when certain players in the cancer-connected