Sanofi to acquire Provention Bio in deal worth $2.9bn

Sanofi has announced that it will acquire US-based Provention Bio for $2.9bn, strengthening the French drugmaker’s portfolio of diabetes medicines.

Through the acquisition, Sanofi will gain access to recently-approved type 1 diabetes prevention therapy Tzield (teplizumab-mzwv), for which the companies already have a co-promotion agreement.

The deal also adds certain early drug development assets in immune-mediated diseases, Sanofi said.

Tzield received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration in November 2022 as the first and only immunomodulatory treatment to delay the onset of stage 3 type 1 diabetes in adults and paediatric patients aged eight years and older who have stage 2 type 1 diabetes.

This was supported by clinical trial results showing that, after an average follow-up of 51 months, only 45% of 44 patients involved in the trial went on to develop stage 3 type 1 diabetes.

By comparison, in the placebo group, 72% of the 32 patients were later diagnosed with stage 3 type 1 diabetes.

Commenting on the merger, Olivier Charmeil, executive vice president, general medicines at Sanofi, said: “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.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Sanofi will initiate a cash tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Provention Bio for $25 per share in cash.

Subject to the satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions, Sanofi said it currently expects to complete the acquisition in the second quarter of this year.

Ashleigh Palmer, chief executive officer and co-founder of Provention Bio, said: “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.”