Sanofi to Buy US Biopharma Group Blueprint

Source Credit : Reuters

Sanofi, a French healthcare company, has reached an agreement to acquire Blueprint Medicines Corporation, a U.S.-based company, for a maximum of $9.5 billion. This transaction is the largest that a European healthcare company has executed this year, according to LSEG data. The acquisition is intended to enhance Sanofi's position in rare immunology diseases.

Blueprint is recognized as a specialist in the treatment of systemic mastocytosis, which is an uncommon blood disorder. On Monday, the two companies announced that Sanofi would initially provide a cash payment of $129.00 per share, amounting to approximately $9.1 billion. Following this announcement, shares of Blueprint experienced a 27% increase, reaching $128.74 in premarket trading, while Sanofi's stock declined by about 1%.

Sanofi has ramped up research and development spending in recent years, prompting the company to abandon its long-term profit margin targets two years ago, as it seeks to build on the success of its blockbuster drug Dupixent for eczema and other conditions.

However, it suffered a setback last week after an experimental drug for patients with a lung condition commonly called "smoker's lung" failed a late-stage trial.

The Blueprint acquisition "represents a strategic step forward in our rare and immunology portfolios. It enhances our pipeline and accelerates our transformation into the world's leading immunology company," said Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson.

The deal would add to Sanofi's portfolio the rare immunology disease drug Ayvakit, also known as Ayvakyt, approved in the U.S. and the EU, and a promising advanced and early-stage immunology pipeline.

Ayvakit is the only approved medicine for advanced and indolent systemic mastocytosis, a rare blood disorder that occurs when the body makes abnormal mast cells - a type of white blood cell. It triggers a continuous allergic response.

The acquisition would also bring elenestinib, a next-generation medicine for systemic mastocytosis, as well as BLU-808, a highly selective and potent oral wild-type KIT inhibitor that has the potential to treat a broad range of diseases in immunology.