In the first of three deals announced in the space of a week, Sanofi has partnered with German biotech BioNTech to discover and develop up to five mRNA-based cancer immunotherapies in deal potentially worth up to US$1.56 B. Looking to reverse declining sales of its diabetes franchise and keep up with rival Novo Nordisk, the company has also licensed three long-acting diabetes programmes from Hanmi Pharmaceutical for €400 M (US$437 M) upfront and sotagliflozin from Lexicon Pharmaceuticals for US$300 M upfront.