Sanofi wants to take over the US biotech company Translate Bio

The French pharmaceutical company Sanofi wants to make progress in the research of mRNA vaccines and take over the US biotech company Translate Bio. Sanofi is offering $ 3.2 billion in cash or $ 38 per share, as the company announced. The boards of directors of both companies have already approved the deal. With Translate Bio, Sanofi could advance its goals in the area of mRNA technology and the development of vaccines as therapeutics, said Sanofi boss Paul Hudson. After the success of the mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccine from Biontech and the US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, as well as the vaccine from Moderna, the technology has moved into the focus of pharmaceutical companies. The so-called messenger RNA (mRNA) technology uses the message system of the human body to give the human cells the information they need to fight pathogens. Translate Bio was founded in 2016 and has not yet launched any drugs. A therapeutic agent based on mRNA against the metabolic disease cystic fibrosis is in clinical studies. The Americans have been working with Sanofi since 2018. Last year, the two companies joined forces to develop an mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccine. The two companies are also testing mRNA vaccines against several infectious diseases, and in June started a Phase I trial evaluating a potential mRNA-based vaccine against seasonal flu. Sanofi is also researching a corona vaccine with the British GlaxoSmithKline, but suffered a setback at the beginning of the year. In the spring, the two pharmaceutical companies announced that they would probably have a vaccine that could be approved by the end of the year. Sanofi is committed to developing vaccines and drugs based on mRNA technology. The French want to bring at least six vaccines to clinical development by 2025. Around 400 employees at the Cambridge, USA and French Lyon locations will work on this. The French pharmaceutical giant recently raised its annual targets after strong growth in the second quarter. For 2021, earnings per share are now expected to increase by around twelve percent at constant exchange rates, the group announced. In the second quarter, the group benefited from strong growth in its vaccines business and a jump in sales of 57 percent to 1.24 billion euros for the skin drug Duxipent, Sanofi's top-selling product. Overall, sales at constant exchange rates rose by 12.4 percent to 8.74 billion euros. Net income climbed almost 17 percent to 1.73 billion - more than analysts had expected.