Shortly after the opening of the Paris Bourse, the title Sanofi lost 1.24% to 85.87 euros. The company bought the American biotech Kadmon for $ 1.9 billion. Sanofi – which specifies in its press release that it has “concluded a definitive merger agreement with Kadmon” – emphasizes that this acquisition “is part of its strategy to continue the growth of its General Medicine activity”. The operation allows it to add Rezurock (belumosudil) to its drug portfolio, which was approved last July by the FDA, the US health authority.
This once-daily tablet is “the first drug in its pharmacotherapeutic class indicated for the treatment of chronic graft-versus-host disease in adults and children from 12 years of age, after failure. of at least two previous systemic treatment lines “. “This asset is a real gem and we are happy to add it to our well-established portfolio of drugs indicated in the care of transplant patients”, commented Olivier Charmeil, executive vice-president of the General Medicine activity, cited in the press release.
“Thanks to Sanofi’s global resources and expertise in the development and commercialization of innovative medicines, Rezurock is now well positioned to be more quickly accessible to patients around the world,” said Harlan Waksal, CEO of Kadmon.
Kadmon is also developing Rezurock for the treatment of diffuse systemic cutaneous sclerosis and is currently conducting a phase II clinical trial. The US company’s portfolio also includes drug candidates for the treatment of immune and fibrotic diseases, as well as immuno-oncology drugs.
“Subject to satisfaction or exemption from the usual closing conditions”, the operation should be finalized in the fourth quarter of 2021, the statement said. The boards of directors of Sanofi and Kadmon have unanimously approved this transaction. The transaction is expected to have a slightly accretive effect on Sanofi’s net earnings per share in 2022, it is stated.
Holders of Kadmon common stock will receive $ 9.50 per share as part of the transaction that values Kadmon at around $ 1.9 billion: the purchase price represents a 79% premium over the closing price September 7. Sanofi has more than 100,000 employees in 100 countries.
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