Sanofi pulls the plug on Nurix's oral STAT6 degrader three months into Phase 1

Sanofi's Phase 1 trial of an oral STAT6 degrader started in August. It's already over. Nurix Therapeutics said on 3 November that Sanofi is discontinuing the first-in-human study of SAR448272 and ending the programme.

Why it matters to Sanofi

STAT6 sits inside the IL-4/IL-13 signalling pathway that Sanofi and Regeneron's Dupixent already targets. A degrader removes the protein rather than inhibiting it, and an oral version would be a very different product to an injectable antibody. BioPharma Dive reports that Sanofi told Leerink Partners the decision followed emerging nonclinical findings in eczema, while still describing STAT6 as an important immunology pathway.

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Sanofi isn't leaving the target. It has a second STAT6 programme in development with privately held Recludix Pharma.

What it means for Nurix

Nurix doesn't expect any further milestones or royalties on SAR448272. It received $10 million when the Phase 1 study began in August, according to BioPharma Dive, and it stays eligible for payments on its other programmes licensed to Sanofi. The shares fell more than 40% in early trading the following day.

The balance sheet cushions the blow. Nurix had $1.1 billion in cash and investments at 31 August and says its runway still reaches into the second half of 2029. Its lead asset is bexobrutideg, a BTK degrader partnered with Roche that is in a registrational Phase 3 trial in CLL and also being developed for autoimmune disease. Gilead is running Phase 1 trials of an IRAK4 degrader from Nurix in rheumatoid arthritis.

"While today's news is disappointing, Nurix remains in a strong position" Arthur T. Sands, MD, PhD, President and CEO, Nurix Therapeutics

The class read-through

Analysts mostly kept this to one molecule. Leerink's David Risinger said he did not view the termination "as a negative read-through to the broader STAT6 class", per BioPharma Dive. Kymera Therapeutics, which reported positive early Phase 1 data for its own STAT6 degrader in 2025, has a mid-stage readout expected later this year.

The bigger picture

The race to put Dupixent-like biology into a tablet is one of the busiest in I&I. Early exits like this are normal in a new modality, and they rarely slow a well-funded field. What they do is shift attention to whichever programme reaches mid-stage data first.

What it means for hiring

Targeted protein degradation in immunology is still a small talent pool. Toxicology, DMPK and translational scientists who have taken a degrader into the clinic will stay highly sought after.
Partnered biotechs live and die by alliance decisions. Strong alliance management and BD leadership, able to keep several big-pharma programmes moving at once, is a core hire, not a nice-to-have.
If Kymera's mid-stage STAT6 data lands well, expect a wave of I&I clinical development hiring across oral eczema and asthma programmes.

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