Sanofi upbeat despite setback
French pharmaceuticals group Sanofi, which employs over 650 people at a plant in Waterford, has said it had suffered from low uptake for a new cholesterol drug and from concerns about a dengue vaccine, but says it was confident its pipeline of new products would support long-term growth.
The world’s sixth largest drugmaker, which is battling to contain the fallout from a safety row in the Philippines over dengue vaccine Dengvaxia, said it expected to file nine regulatory submissions in the next 18 months.
Sanofi shares, which eased at one stage yesterday, are little changed over the year. Some investors have said they are unhappy with the group’s product pipeline and its failure to engage in a large acquisition since it appointed Olivier Brandicourt as chief executive in 2015.
Sanofi is under pressure to stand out in research and development as its diabetes division still has to overcome pricing constraints in the US, the world’s largest health market, where its blockbuster insulin medication Lantus has lost its patent.
In opening remarks at a company investor day, Mr Brandicourt said the group was on track to sell its European generic drugs unit in the coming year, a long-awaited deal which could be worth more than €2bn, sources say.
“We are making good progress overall on our roadmap and I am confident that Sanofi now is much better positioned to deliver the sustained and long-term growth that our shareholders are expecting from us,” he said.
The company said in November 2015 its five-year strategic plan would see six key launches likely to generate peak sales of €12bn to €14bn by 2025.
One of them, Dengvaxia, is proving disappointing after findings the vaccine could in some cases increase the risk of severe dengue.
Once touted as a $1bn-a-year blockbuster product, Dengvaxia’s initial sales last year were only €55m. Sales of Sanofi’s new cholesterol drug Praluent have also disappointed.
“When I turn to delivering outstanding launches I concede that our record over the past two years has been mixed,” Mr Brandicourt said.
