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Sanofi has agreed to acquire Vigil Neuroscience in a $470m deal, nearly a year after investing an initial $40m in the company.
The deal will see Sanofi acquire all outstanding common shares of US-based Vigil for $8 per share in cash at closing.
Virgil’s shares closed at $2.31 on 21 May, meaning Sanofi is paying a premium of 246%. Vigil has a current market cap of $107.8m.
Part of the deal also includes an additional $2 cash payment per share upon the first commercial sale of Vigil’s Alzheimer’s asset, VG-3927.
Although Vigil has two candidates in its pipeline, Sanofi’s buyout centred around the potential of VG-3927. Indeed, Vigil’s other programme – the fully human monoclonal antibody iluzanebart dubbed VGL101 – is not part of the acquisition and will return to its original licensor, Amgen.
Sanofi has not hidden its high regard for VG-3927, with the $40m investment made in June 2024 giving the French drugmaker the exclusive right of first negotiation regarding its licensing.
With the buyout of Vigil, Sanofi now has full control of VG-3927, including research, development, manufacturing, and commercialisation duties.
VG-3927 is an oral small-molecule agonist of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2). Evidence so far suggests that activating TREM2 could enhance the neuroprotective function of microglia – the resident immune cells of the central nervous system – in Alzheimer’s. Indeed, genetic factors such as rare variants of TREM2 strongly increase the risk of developing the disease.
Vigil has reported positive data from a Phase I clinical trial (NCT06343636) evaluating VG-3927 in healthy volunteers. The drug demonstrated a favourable safety and tolerability profile across all cohorts – including the elderly cohort – of 115 participants. Vigil planned to advance the therapy into a Phase II trial in Q3 2025, as per an April update. Sanofi did not comment on whether the timeline will be affected by the acquisition, confirming only that it would go ahead into a Phase II clinical study.
“TREM2 represents a compelling target at the intersection of immune dysregulation and neurodegeneration, particularly in people living with Alzheimer’s because they face devastating cognitive decline with limited treatment options,” said Houman Ashrafian, Sanofi’s head of research and development.
Currently approved therapies such as Eisai and Biogen’s Leqembi (lecanamab) and Eli Lilly’s Kisunla (donanemab) do not stop or reverse disease progression. While gaining approvals in multiple regions, the drugs have struggled in national coverage schemes due to questions around cost efficiency. Sanofi believes its new asset can fill this unmet need for Alzheimer’s patients, along with delivering a “safer and [more] convenient” option.