Sanofi to buy biopharmaceutical group Kadmon in $1.9bn deal

Sanofi has agreed to buy Kadmon in a $1.9bn deal, sending shares in the biopharmaceutical company surging.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Sanofi will pay $9.50 per share in cash.

Sanofi said the acquisition supports its strategy to continue to grow its General Medicines core assets and will immediately add Rezurock™(belumosudil) to its transplant portfolio. Rezurock is a recently FDA-approved, first-in-class treatment for chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) for adult and paediatric patients 12 years and older who have failed at least two prior lines of systemic therapy.

Sanofi’s executive vice president of General Medicines, 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."

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

At 1335 BST, Kadmon shares were up 74% in pre-market trade at $9.21.