On July 16, 2026 Valerio Therapeutics (FR0010095596 – ALVIO), a biotechnology company pioneering next-generation precision-guided RNA therapeutics ("Valerio" or the "Company"), reported that it has entered into a binding term-sheet with Abivax SA ("Abivax"), setting out the principal terms of an exclusive worldwide research and development collaboration. The final terms remain subject to the signing of the definitive co-ownership and license agreement.
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In connection with this collaboration, Valerio and Abivax will work together to identify, design and evaluate next-generation therapeutic candidates for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, leveraging Abivax’s expertise in this area together with Valerio’s targeted technology platforms. The collaboration will include the generation, manufacturing and preclinical evaluation of research candidates. The candidates will be evaluated for their therapeutic potential and may be further developed by Abivax.
Under the terms of the binding term-sheet, Valerio will receive an upfront payment up to approximately €2.4 million and would be eligible to receive development and commercial milestone payments, as well as royalties on net sales and sublicensing revenues, subject to the execution of the definitive co-ownership and license agreement and the achievement of specified milestones and other terms.
"This collaboration brings together two highly complementary scientific capabilities: Abivax’s expertise in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases and Valerio’s advanced technology platforms. We believe this collaboration creates an exciting opportunity to explore innovative therapeutic approaches that leverage complementary expertise. We look forward to working closely with the Abivax team to advance this research and evaluate its potential to address important unmet medical needs for patients," said Gilles Besin, Ph.D., the Company’s Chief Executive Officer.
"We are pleased to collaborate with Valerio Therapeutics and to explore the potential of our complementary scientific capabilities. We look forward to working together as the program progresses," said Marc de Garidel, CEO of Abivax.
For Valerio, the execution of this binding term-sheet represents an important milestone in the evolution of the Company as a precision RNA therapeutics developer with a growing pipeline. The partnership with Abivax will provide non-dilutive funding to support pipeline advancement, will supplement the existing potential for future milestone and royalty revenues and will reinforce the attractiveness of Valerio’s technology platform to biotech and pharmaceutical partners.
This transaction is aligned with Valerio’s strategy of advancing a focused portfolio of wholly owned therapeutic programs while complementing these efforts through partnerships and licensing transactions that leverage its platform capabilities and create additional value creation opportunities.
Valerio will provide further updates in due course, including upon signature of the definitive co-ownership and license agreement, in accordance with its obligations under the binding term-sheet and applicable regulatory obligations.
Pipeline Highlights
Valerio is advancing a pipeline of precision RNA therapeutics focused on diseases where targeted delivery to specific immune cells enables differentiated treatment approaches. The Company’s lead programs have been selected based on a combination of strong disease biology, clear unmet medical need and the ability to leverage Valerio’s proprietary V-Body platform to direct RNA-based payloads to disease-relevant tissue.
The proprietary pipeline currently includes the lead program VTX-001 in ankylosing spondylitis, VTX-002 in IgG4-related disease and VTX-003 in oncology. VTX-001 and VTX-002 are next-generation in vivo CAR-T approaches in the immunity & inflammation field and are designed to selectively deplete pathogenic immune-cell populations, while VTX-003 uses a V-Body–oligonucleotide conjugate approach to deliver siRNA to reactivate exhausted T cells in oncology.
Valerio’s platform is designed to accelerate discovery and development by enabling rapid generation of tailored V-Bodies, which can be combined with RNA payloads and next-generation lipid nanoparticle technologies across multiple therapeutic modalities. The Company’s strategy and pipeline reflect a milestone-driven approach to value inflection, with the ambition to nominate up to two development candidates within 12 to 18 months and to progress at least one program into first-in-human clinical studies within 18 to 24 months.
(Press release, Valerio Therapeutics, JUL 16, 2026, View Source [SID1234669274])