[PARIS] France’s Sanofi has agreed to buy US-based Blueprint Medicines Corporation for up to US$9.5 billion to boost its position in rare immunology diseases, in the biggest deal struck by a European healthcare company so far this year, according to LSEG data.
Blueprint is a specialist in treatments for systemic mastocytosis, a rare blood disorder.
The two companies said on Monday (Jun 2) that Sanofi would initially pay US$129.00 per share in cash, or around US$9.1 billion. Blueprint shares jumped 27 per cent to US$128.74 in premarket trade. Sanofi stock was down about 1 per cent.
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.
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The deal would add to Sanofi’s portfolio the rare immunology disease drug Ayvakit, also known as Ayvakyt, approved in the US 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.
The deal makes “strategic and financial sense”, said JPMorgan analysts in a note, noting that Blueprint expects Ayvakit to reach annual sales of around US$2 billion by fiscal year 2030.
“We see the transaction as a good fit for Sanofi at a sensible valuation, which investors should see as a positive with time,” they added.
It is the latest in a series of deals by Sanofi. Last month, it announced the US$470 million purchase of Vigil Neuroscience and in January 2024 it struck a US$2.2 billion deal for US biotech firm Inhibrx.
Hudson said the deal complemented Sanofi’s recent acquisitions of other early-stage medicines and added that it still retained a sizable capacity for further deals.
The company has said it plans to invest at least US$20 billion in the US through 2030 to boost manufacturing and research, joining other drugmakers in responding to President Donald Trump’s drive to boost local manufacturing.
Besides US$129.00 per share in cash, Blueprint shareholders would also receive one non-tradeable contingent value right (CVR) per share, which would entitle the holder to receive two potential milestone payments of US$2 and US$4 per CVR for the achievement, respectively, of future development and regulatory milestones for BLU-808.
The total equity value of the transaction, including potential CVR payments, is US$9.5 billion on a fully diluted basis. It is expected to close in the third quarter, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals. REUTERS
