After a series of trials and tribulations, Ventyx Biosciences has received a $27 million boost from Sanofi, money that is expected to extend the biotech’s cash runway into the second half of 2026.
The Sanofi equity investment means the Big Pharma will receive exclusive rights of first negotiation surrounding VTX3232, an oral selective inhibitor of NLRP3 with an initial focus in cardiovascular diseases, according to a Sept. 23 release.
With the investment, Ventyx expects its cash runway to stretch into “at least the second half of 2026,” according to the company release. As of June 30, the biotech had $279.7 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, as reported in Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
The $27 million transaction consists of Sanofi purchasing 70,601 shares of the biotech’s Series A convertible preferred stock, each of which is convertible into 100 shares of common stock. That price came out to $3.82 per share of common stock, reflecting a roughly 66% premium over the company's Friday share price.
In return, Sanofi gets the chance at first negotiation for a license, grant or transfer of any rights to VTX3232, a CNS-penetrant candidate designed to treat a range of neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative conditions.
Ventyx has completed phase 1 testing in healthy adults that found daily doses of VTX3232 to be well-tolerated and tied to target coverage achieved in both plasma and cerebrospinal fluid levels, according to the biotech.
“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,” Ventyx CEO Raju Mohan, Ph.D., said in the press release.
The company’s stock was up 10% this morning, rising from $2.30 per share at Friday’s market close to $2.54 as of 10:45 a.m. ET today. But over the last year, the company's shares are down more than 90%.
Things may be looking up for the San Diego-based biotech after a rocky year. Most recently, the company’s allosteric TYK2 inhibitor VTX958 failed to help patients achieve remission in a phase 2 Crohn’s disease trial, according to a July 29 release.
Ventyx attributed the flop to “a higher than anticipated placebo response” and decided not to conduct any further testing of the asset using internal resources. The candidate is still listed in Ventyx’s pipeline.
Back in December 2023, the company had laid off 20% of its team after R&D updates sent the company’s stock plummeting. A month prior, a separate phase 2 trial of the TYK2 inhibitor VTX958 in plaque psoriasis hit key endpoints but fell short of the company’s internal bar for further development.