Sanofi to Buy Amunix for Up to $1.2 Billion for Cancer Drugs

(Bloomberg) -- Sanofi agreed to buy privately held Amunix Pharmaceuticals Inc. for as much as $1.2 billion to increase its pipeline of promising cancer medicines.

The French drugmaker will pay $1 billion upfront and up to $225 million if future development milestones are reached, the companies said in a statement Tuesday.

Amunix, based in Mountain View, California, is developing treatments that aim to use the immune system to target cancers. The medicines it’s pursuing “offer a strong strategic fit” with Sanofi’s focus on developing immuno-oncology therapies, the French company said.

Sanofi shares fell 0.1% in early Paris trading. The stock is up about 10% this year.

Under Chief Executive Officer Paul Hudson, Sanofi has embarked on an acquisition spree to rejuvenate a pipeline that placed it behind rivals in terms of innovation and revenue potential. Sanofi expects to complete the Amunix deal in the first quarter of 2022.

In September, Sanofi snapped up U.S. biotech Kadmon Holdings Inc. for $1.9 billion, gaining a potential blockbuster medicine to expand its transplant-drug portfolio. The previous month, Sanofi agreed to buy its messenger-RNA development partner, Translate Bio Inc., for $3.2 billion, to catch up in the technology that led to some of the most effective Covid-19 vaccines. 

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