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10 December 2019Big PharmaSaman Javed

Sanofi buys Synthorx for $2.5 billion

Sanofi is to acquire Synthorx, a biotechnology company focused on improving the lives of people suffering from cancer and autoimmune diseases, for $2.5 billion.

In a joint statement yesterday, December 9, the companies said the acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2020.

Paul Hudson, Sanofi’s chief executive, who joined from Novartis in September, said the acquisition fits perfectly with the company’s strategy to build a portfolio of high-quality assets.

“Additionally, it is aligned with our goal to build our oncology franchise with potentially practice-changing medicines and novel combinations," Hudson said.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sanofi will acquire Synthorx for $68 per share, with a total value of $2.5 billion.

It will also acquire THOR-707, a molecule that “has the potential to become a foundation of the next generation of immune-oncology combination therapies”, according to John Reed, global head of research and development at Sanofi.

“By selectively expanding the numbers of effector T-cells and natural killer cells in the body, THOR-707 can be combined with our current oncology medicines and our emerging pipeline of immuno-modulatory agents for treating cancer,” Reed added.

In a separate announcement yesterday, Sanofi said it will be discontinuing research in diabetes and cardiovascular. It said it will not pursue plans to launch efpeglenatide, a treatment for type 2 diabetes.

Hudson said Sanofi has “changed the practice of medicine in diabetes and cardiovascular disease” but its new strategy positions the company to achieve breakthroughs with its “most promising medicines”.

“We recognise it is getting more difficult to get breakthrough innovation and that we have to be efficient and move our resources to areas of opportunity, as tough a choice as that is,” Hudson told Reuters.

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