HQ Team
March 14, 2023; France’s Sanofi SA will acquire Provention Bio, Inc., a US-based company, for $25.00 per share in cash, representing an equity value of approximately $2.9 billion.
Provention Bio is focused on developing immune-mediated diseases, including type 1 diabetes (T1D), which will help Sanofi to hasten its research on a U.S.-approved type 1 diabetes therapy and strengthen its drug pipeline.
The deal would give the French drugmaker full ownership of the drug, Tzield (teplizumab-mzwv), which was approved in the U.S. last year as the first and only therapy to delay the onset of Stage 3 type 1 diabetes (T1D) in adults and pediatric patients aged 8 years and older with Stage 2 T1D. Sanofi expects to complete the acquisition in the second quarter of 2023. The purchase builds on an existing co-promotion agreement with Provention Bio for Tzield.
Sanofi will continue to utilize its capabilities in diabetes to maximize TZIELD’s potential as a transformative therapy globally and in the U.S., aiming to delay the onset of Stage 3 type 1 diabetes for some of the approximately 65,000 people diagnosed every year in the US.
Sanofi has faced some development setbacks with investors getting impatient with its medicine pipeline progress. Sanofi’s Chief Executive Officer Paul Hudson said last month the company saw great promise in type 1 diabetes drug development.
Olivier Charmeil, executive vice president of Sanofi, said in a press release, “The acquisition of Provention Bio builds on Sanofi’s mission to deliver best- and first-in-class medicines and resonates with our purpose of chasing the miracles of science for the benefit of people. 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.”
Provention Bio’s shares nearly quadrupled in premarket trade from their last close at $6.70 after Sanofi agreed to buy the company at $25 per share in cash.
Tzield
Tzield is a CD3-directed antibody indicated to delay the onset of Stage 3 T1D, which is associated with significant health risks, including diabetic ketoacidosis, which can be life-threatening. Patients who progress to Stage 3 T1D eventually require insulin injections for life.
TZIELD is also in late-stage clinical development for the treatment of pediatric and adolescent patients that are newly diagnosed with clinical T1D (Stage 3). A Phase 3 trial, PROTECT, is currently underway and top-line results are expected in the second half of 2023. Additional opportunities for TZIELD include re-dosing and formulations as well as new therapeutic indications.
