Sanofi has announced a licensing agreement with Sino Biopharmaceutical, marking another major move by the French pharmaceutical company to expand its portfolio of innovative drugs. The deal gives Sanofi exclusive global rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize rovadicitinib, an investigational oral therapy for inflammatory diseases.
According to a securities filing on Tuesday in Hong Kong, Sanofi will make an upfront payment of $135 million. Sino Biopharm stands to receive up to $1.395 billion more if certain clinical, regulatory, and sales milestones are met. Additionally, the company is eligible for double-digit tiered royalties on future sales.
While specific indications targeted by Sanofi were not disclosed, regulatory filings confirm that rovadicitinib has been cleared for Phase 2 development in the United States for chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). The drug is already approved in China for treating primary myelofibrosis as well as myelofibrosis following polycythemia vera and essential thrombocythemia.
Rovadicitinib is described as a small-molecule inhibitor affecting both JAK and ROCK proteins—two pathways implicated in inflammatory processes. Disrupting these pathways can have therapeutic effects on immune-mediated conditions. According to the filing, targeting these proteins allows the drug to help restore immune balance.
Sino Biopharm noted that this dual mechanism “synergistic anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects.”
This partnership continues a trend of recent collaborations and acquisitions by Sanofi aimed at strengthening its pipeline of therapies for autoimmune and rare diseases. In December last year, Sanofi committed up to $1.7 billion toward Dren Bio’s platform targeting autoimmune diseases; earlier in March 2025 it acquired Dren's B cell depleter DR-0201 with a $600 million upfront payment and potential milestone payments totaling up to $1.3 billion.
Sanofi also expanded its presence in Asia last December through a partnership with South Korea’s ADEL focused on an anti-tau antibody program in Alzheimer’s disease valued at up to $1.04 billion.
Other notable deals include a $500 million agreement with EVOQ Therapeutics last October and the acquisition of Vicebio for $1.6 billion in July 2025. In June 2025, Sanofi completed one of its largest acquisitions by buying Blueprint Medicines for $9.5 billion—a move aimed at expanding its rare disease portfolio with assets such as elenestinib, which CEO Paul Hudson described as providing “an opportunity to grow through the ‘30s.”
