Pharmaceuticals

Sanofi completes $11.6-billion acquisition of Biogen spin-off Bioverativ

Sanofi has completed its previously announced $11.6-billion acquisition of Bioverativ, a Waltham, Massachusetts-headquartered company created from the spin-off of Biogen’s hemophilia business. The deal was announced in January 2018.

Biogen spun off its global hemophilia business into a separate company, Bioverativ, as a new independent, publicly traded biotechnology company focused on hemophilia and other rare blood disorders in February 2017. Bioverativ generated 2017 revenues of $1.17 billion.

Sanofi said the acquisition meets one of the priorities of Sanofi’s 2020 strategic roadmap to focus on areas where the company currently has, or can effectively build, a leadership position. Sanofi said that the addition of Bioverativ supports this priority by adding a differentiated offering of innovative therapies and providing a platform for growth in rare blood disorders, which expands its position in specialty care and rare diseases.

Bioverativ’s products include extended half-life therapies, Eloctate [antihemophilic factor VIII (recombinant), Fc fusion protein] and Alprolix [coagulation factor IX (recombinant), Fc fusion protein] for treating hemophilia A and B, respectively. Bioverativ currently markets the two products in the US, Japan, Canada, and Australia, and plans to expand into additional geographies. The therapies are also commercialized in the European Union and other countries under a collaboration agreement. Bioverativ’s pipeline includes a program in Phase III testing for treating cold agglutinin disease, an autoimmune disease, and early-stage research programs and collaborations in hemophilia and other rare blood disorders, including sickle-cell disease and beta-thalassemia.