Sanofi has agreed to acquire US-based biopharmaceutical firm Kadmon Holdings in an all-cash transaction valued at around $1.9bn, on a fully diluted basis.
Under the terms of the agreement, Kadmon shareholders are eligible to receive $9.50 per share, indicating a premium of 79% over the closing price as of 7 September 2021.
The transaction price is said to represent a premium of 79% over the closing price as of 7 September 2021 and a premium of 113% over the average price of 60 trading days volume.
Kadmon is engaged in the discovery, development, and marketing of advanced therapies for diseases in the areas of significant unmet medical needs.
The Boards of Directors of both Sanofi and Kadmon have unanimously approved the transaction.
Kadmon president and CEO Harlan Waksal said: “We are excited that Sanofi has acknowledged the value of Rezurock and the deep potential of our pipeline.
“By leveraging Sanofi’s global resources and long-standing expertise in developing and commercialising innovative medicines, Rezurock is now well-positioned for global accessibility, faster.
“I want to thank the entire Kadmon team, including management and the Board of Directors, and the Sanofi organisation, for their ongoing commitment to patients and their caregivers.”
The acquisition will add Rezurock (belumosudil) to Sanofi’s transplant portfolio, supporting its strategy to grow its General Medicines core assets.
It is the first and only approved small molecule therapy that inhibits the Rho-associated coiled-coil kinase 2 (ROCK2), a signalling pathway of inflammatory response.
Rezurock was approved by the US FDA, to treat chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) in adult and paediatric patients in July this year and was launched in the US last month.
The French drugmaker’s transplant business comprises Thymoglobulin, a polyclonal, anti-human thymocyte antibody preparation and Mozobil, a hematopoietic stem cell mobiliser.
Both the products are part of the General Medicines core assets and are currently registered and marketed in more than 65 countries, said the company.
Sanofi general medicines executive vice president Olivier Charmeil said: “We are transforming and simplifying our General Medicines business and have shifted our focus on differentiated core assets in key markets.
“We are thrilled to add Kadmon’s Rezurock to our well-established transplant portfolio.
“Our existing scale, expertise, and relationships in transplant create an ideal platform to achieve the full potential of Rezurock, which will address the significant unmet medical needs of patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease around the world.”
