Sanofi completes acquisition of vaccines biotech company

Sanofi has announced the completion of its acquisition of a privately-held US vaccines biotech company, Protein Sciences, following Federal Trade Commission approval.

This acquisition adds a recombinant protein-based influenza vaccine, Flublok, to the portfolio of Sanofi’s vaccines business unit, Sanofi Pasteur. Flublok is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“We are thrilled to welcome the talented employees and assets of Protein Sciences within Sanofi Pasteur,” said David Loew, Sanofi executive vice president and head of Sanofi Pasteur. “The addition of Flublok Quadrivalent vaccine represents a very attractive opportunity to complement our influenza vaccines portfolio.

“This acquisition is consistent with our strategic ambition of expanding our presence in the respiratory vaccine market, and builds on the recently announced collaboration on an investigational respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) monoclonal antibody,” he added.

In October last year, Protein Sciences also received approval from the FDA for the quadrivalent version of Flublok vaccine, which is indicated for adults 18 years and older.

“Older adults are at high risk of severe influenza and its complications, so it is exciting to see that in a recent clinical study in adults 50 years of age and older, individuals who received Flublok Quadrivalent vaccine were significantly less likely to get influenza than those who received a quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine,” reported Loew. “Specifically, Flublok Quadrivalent vaccine, relative to the comparator, reduced the incidence of lab-confirmed influenza by 30% in this age group.”