Sanofi, which recently announced plans to invest at least $20 billion in the U.S. through 2030, has entered into an agreement to acquire Vigil Neuroscience Inc., a publicly traded clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, for approximately $470 million.

This acquisition in neurology, one of Sanofi’s four strategic disease areas, enhances Sanofi’s early-stage pipeline and includes VG-3927, which will be evaluated in a phase 2 clinical study in Alzheimer’s disease. VGL101, Vigil’s second molecule program, is not being acquired by Sanofi.

Houman Ashrafian, MD, PhD, Head of Research and Development, Sanofi, said, “This acquisition is fully supporting Sanofi’s strategic focus on neurology and on advancing science and leveraging our expertise in immunology to solve areas of critical unmet need. 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. Vigil’s expertise is complementary to our capabilities in neurology and reinforces our dedication to developing innovative medicines to improve people’s lives.”

Ivana Magovčević-Liebisch, PhD, JD, President & Chief Executive Officer, Vigil, said, “We are incredibly proud of the extraordinary and diverse team at Vigil and the progress we have made in developing innovative TREM2-based therapeutics. We look forward to joining forces with Sanofi’s team to leverage Sanofi’s resources, broad platform and far-reaching network to fully unlock and accelerate the development of VG-3927 for the potential treatment of Alzheimer’s disease – a devastating disease with significant unmet need.”

The companies expect the transaction to close in Q3 2025.

Other Pharma Industry Acquisitions

Check out Contract Pharma’s Pharmaceutical Industry Mergers & Acquisitions Roundup.