Sanofi CEO Sets Sights on Deals to Drive Turnaround — 2nd Update

By Adria Calatayud

Sanofi's chief executive signaled the company would need deals to complement its turnaround efforts, as the French drugmaker moves to fill its medicine pipeline to prepare for the looming patent expiration of its bestselling product.

A jump in sales of Dupixent, the blockbuster drug that the company developed jointly with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, prompted Sanofi to raise its full-year outlook for the second time this year.

The company said Friday that its annual sales would grow by a low-teens percentage figure excluding the effect of currency movements, and business earnings per share--one of its preferred profit metrics--by a mid-teens percentage.

Shares in Sanofi rose more than 5% in European morning trading.

Sanofi attributed the guidance upgrade, which followed another increase in late July, to its strong commercial and financial momentum, with sales growth driven by recently launched medicines and continued demand for Dupixent.

Dupixent, which is approved for conditions ranging from asthma to eczema, accounted for nearly 40% of Sanofi's sales in the third quarter, underscoring the challenge ahead for the company when the medicine goes off patent in the early 2030s.

"The whole organization is focused on managing Sanofi's post-Dupixent trajectory over the next decade," CEO Belen Garijo said. "We have already begun taking action to improve [research-and-development] productivity. Business development and [mergers and acquisitions] will be critical to complement this transformation."

Garijo took the helm at Sanofi earlier this year and was tasked with replenishing the company's drug pipeline after a series of trial setbacks last year damaged investors' confidence in the company.

During the first months of her tenure, the company has taken some initial steps to reshuffle its portfolio, expanding its alliance with Regeneron and striking a deal with Cheplapharm to offload older medicines. It also discontinued some drug-development programs and replaced its research-and-development head.

Sanofi Chief Financial Officer Francois-Xavier Roger said during a call with reporters that the company was confident of delivering growth through 2030 and beyond, and that it continued to work on replenishing its pipeline.

The company plans to look at acquiring drug candidates at a late stage of development or already on the market and pursuing complementary deals for early-stage assets, focusing on its core disease areas of immunology, rare diseases and vaccines, Roger said. In parallel, Sanofi wants to reinvigorate its internal research-and-development work, which has recently delivered weak results, he added.

For the third quarter, Sanofi reported 3.02 billion euros ($3.38 billion) in net profit, up from 2.81 billion euros a year before.

Core EPS climbed 20%, when excluding the effect of currency movements, to 3.55 euros. Analysts had forecast the figure at 2.81 euros, according to consensus estimates compiled by Vara.

Dupixent sales rose 35% at constant currency to 5.69 billion euros and revenue from recent launches increased 31%, offsetting a 6.6% drop in vaccine sales.

Overall, Sanofi's net sales jumped to 14.44 billion euros, up 14% at constant foreign-exchange rates and ahead of analysts' expectations of 13.25 billion euros.

Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 30, 2026 06:50 ET (10:50 GMT)