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Sanofi Acquires Provention Bio for $2.9 Billion
Paris-based Sanofi announced its acquisition just months after Provention’s TZIELD monoclonal antibody was approved in the United States.
On Monday, the European healthcare company Sanofi announced a $2.9 billion acquisition deal with US-based Provention Bio. Under the terms of the agreement, Sanofi will pay $25 per share in cash, reflecting an equity value of nearly $3 billion.
Provention’s only currently approved product is teplizumab-mzww, sold under the brand name TZIELD. In October of last year, one month before the FDA approved TZIELD, Sanofi and Provention announced a co-promotion agreement where Sanofi would leverage its large sales team to push Provention’s TZIELD along with the company’s portfolio of existing diabetes therapies. Sanofi US employs nearly 13,000 people, while Provention employs less than 200 across the entire company.
The crowning jewel of the acquisition is undoubtedly TZIELD, the first and only treatment indicated to delay the progression of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in clinical trials and reduce the risk of complications from the disease. In addition to its approved use in delaying stage 3 onset, ongoing clinical trials are seeking approval for another indication in stage 3 patients newly diagnosed T1D patients. “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,” said Sanofi executive vice president Olivier Charmeil.
In an interview with PharmaNewsIntelligence, the Medical Director of Pediatric Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at Advent Health Children, Konda Reddy, MD, explained the benefits of a delayed stage 3 diagnosis. “Studies show that this medication has the potential to delay the diagnosis for 2–5 years,” highlighted Reddy. “It cannot be emphasized enough how precious a delay in the onset of diagnosis can be from the patient and their family perspectives — especially in the younger population.” The delayed onset can save families money on diabetes maintenance and allow children to create healthy habits for dealing with the condition in the future.
On top of its diabetes therapy, Provention has other autoimmune candidates in its pipeline that target celiac disease and systemic lupus. Some therapies are already available to treat lupus, making it a less valuable clinical target. However, there are few, if any, treatments for celiac disease besides a strict gluten-free diet.
Sanofi’s acquisition plays into the trend of large companies with relatively weak pipelines supplementing their growth with acquisitions. In the future, it’s likely that small pharmaceutical companies like Provention will be bought with few approvals or drugs in their pipelines.
