By Bhanvi Satija
LONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) – French drugmaker Sanofi said on Friday it was prepared to pursue larger deals as it seeks to rebuild its basket of experimental drugs for future growth under new CEO Belen Garijo.
Its shares rose nearly 6% to their highest since April and were among the top gainers in Europe as the company raised its 2026 growth targets for the second time this year.
Garijo, who took the top role in May, is tasked with charting Sanofi’s growth trajectory post the early 2030s, when its blockbuster asthma drug Dupixent loses patent exclusivity.
On Friday, finance chief Francois Roger said the company was increasingly interested in deals that would give it access to late-stage medicines or marketed products, and would consider acquisitions larger than its usual range of $2 billion to $5 billion.
“These assets are more expensive,” he told journalists after third-quarter results.
He said Sanofi will stick to areas where it already operates — immunology, rare diseases and vaccines.
“We could consider potentially what we call white spaces or moonshots with unmet medical needs,” Roger added.
NEW CEO HAS PROMISED FASTER DECISION-MAKING
Garijo has kicked off a strategic review and promised investors faster decision-making since taking over. She also overhauled her executive committee to expand Roger’s role to include business development, and hired former Roche executive Paulo Fontoura to lead R&D.
“We are fully committed to executing on our plan and moving with the necessary sense of urgency,” Garijo said on a call with analysts.
She said Sanofi will keep moving at its current pace and will give more details on medium- to long-term priorities before year-end.
Analysts estimate that Sanofi has about €20 billion to spend on deals, and believe it will need to use some of that before a raft of late-stage trial data is expected in 2027.
“Management has understood the urgency of the situation and Belen is acting fast,” said Markus Manns, a portfolio manager at Sanofi shareholder Union Investment.
Sanofi earlier this month entered into an expanded partnership with US partner Regeneron, worth up to $8 billion, to develop four new drugs together and settle prior litigation.
“Short term, I am focused on a potential M&A transaction, which I assume will come rather sooner than later,” Manns said, adding that he will closely watch for details from Fontoura on his plans for rebuilding the internal pipeline.
OUTLOOK LIFTED, THIRD QUARTER BEATS FORECASTS
The company said it now expects sales and profit per share this year to grow by a low-teens and mid-teens percentage, respectively, helped by strong sales of Dupixent and cost management.
Previously, it had expected sales growth of 10% at a constant exchange rate, and profit per share to grow slightly faster than sales. At least three analysts said the raise would lift market consensus for Sanofi’s full-year earnings.
The company is focused on “returns rather than restructuring,” Roger said, adding that Sanofi is investing heavily in artificial intelligence for R&D, which it expects could cut some development timelines.
Sanofi has identified areas where it can move faster and execute better, he said, and is working through simplifying processes and governance.
The French drugmaker posted third-quarter business operating income, a profit metric, of €5.43 billion, compared with market expectations of €4.32 billion.
Profit was helped by a larger share of sales from its newer launches, including hemophilia A treatment ALTUVIIIO, as well as better prices after discounts.
Total sales were €14.44 billion, up 14.3% at constant exchange rates, ahead of a €13.25 billion analyst estimate. Dupixent sales reached €5.69 billion, about 10% above expectations.
(Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in London; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Jan Harvey)
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