Sanofi to buy Kadmon for $1.9bn, expanding transplant-drug portfolio

Drug major Sanofi has agreed to buy US biopharmaceutical company Kadmon Holdings Inc. for $1.9 billion, expanding its transplant-drug portfolio.

Shareholders of Kadmon common stock will receive $9.50 per share in cash.

The Sanofi and Kadmon Boards of Directors unanimously approved the transaction under the merger agreement, marking the French drug maker’s third major acquisition this year.

Last month, the company agreed to acquire its messenger-RNA development partner Translate Bio Inc. for $3.2bn, and in April, it completed the purchase of Kymab Ltd., a maker of antibody treatments, for $1.1bn.

Kadmon’s acquisition is in line with Sanofi’s strategy to grow its General Medicines core assets, and it will immediately add Rezurock™(belumosudil) to its transplant portfolio.

“We are transforming and simplifying our General Medicines business and have shifted our focus on differentiated core assets in key markets,” said Olivier Charmeil, executive vice president General Medicines, Sanofi.

He added that Sanofi’s “existing scale, expertise, and relationships in transplant” can help in achieving the full potential of Rezurock.

Rezurock is a recently FDA-approved, first-in-class treatment for chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) for adult and pediatric patients 12 years and older who have failed at least two prior lines of systemic therapy.

Harlan Waksal, managing director, president and chief executive officer of Kadmon said with Sanofi’s global resources and expertise in innovative medicine, “Rezurock is now well positioned for global accessibility”.

Sanofi will work closely with regulatory authorities across different geographies to spread the belumosudil treatment. Kadmon is also developing Rezurock for the treatment of diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis.

Sanofi’s transplant business mainly consists of Thymoglobulin® (anti-thymocyte globulin), a polyclonal, anti-human thymocyte antibody preparation and Mozobil® (plerixafor), a hematopoietic stem cell mobilizer.

Kadmon’s pipeline includes drug candidates for immune and fibrotic diseases as well as immuno-oncology therapies.

Sanofi expects to complete the acquisition in the fourth quarter of 2021, and plans to fund the transaction with available cash resources.