Sanofi to acquire Provention Bio in $2.9bn deal
pharmafile | March 13, 2023 | News story | Sales and Marketing |
Sanofi has agreed to acquire Provention Bio as part of a $2.9bn deal that aims to improve the company’s portfolio of diabetes medicines, with a new treatment developed by Provention having recently been approved in the US.
The companies had an existing agreement for the commercialisation of Provention’s drug, a monocloncal antibody to delay clinical type 1 diabetes, which the new deal builds on.
Sanofi has offered $25 per share in cash; more than triple the biotech’s closing price on Friday.
Through this deal, Sanofi will acquire a new medicine which will complement a number of its existing diabetes treatments. This acquisition aims to diversify the company’s portfolio of drugs, expanding beyond its blockbuster skin treatment, Dupixent. This marks Sanofi’s largest acquisition since that of Principia Biopharma Inc for $3bn in 2020.
Olivier Charmeil, executive vice president of General Medicines at Sanofi, commented: “The acquisition of Provention Bio builds on Sanofi’s mission to deliver best- and first-in-class medicines and resonates with our purpose of chasing the miracles of science for the benefit of people. By coupling Provention Bio’s transformative innovation with Sanofi’s expertise, we aim to bring life-changing benefits to people at risk of developing Stage 3 type 1 diabetes. Any additional indications, approvals and pipeline assets only serve to further our excitement. Given our existing partnership and complementary work in the diabetes and immunology spaces, we foresee a seamless integration and execution.”
Ashleigh Palmer, CEO and co-founder of Provention Bio, added: “Sanofi and Provention Bio share a common vision of bringing new therapies to patients with autoimmune diseases. Under our co-promotion agreement, our companies have made significant progress educating healthcare providers and increasing patient access during the initial US commercial launch of TZIELD. Sanofi’s global expertise and commitment to immunology makes them an ideal acquiror and positions our innovative therapy to reach more patients as quickly as possible.”
Betsy Goodfellow
