Sanofi Closes Acquisition of Protein Sciences

On August 28, 2017, Sanofi announced that it completed its acquisition of Protein Sciences (Meriden, CT), a vaccines biotechnology company, following approval from the US Federal Trade Commission. With the acquisition, Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines global business unit of Sanofi, gains Flublok (influenza vaccine), a recombinant protein-based influenza vaccine approved by FDA.

The acquisition fits with Sanofi Pasteur’s strategic initiative to explore non-egg-based influenza vaccine manufacturing technologies. “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,” said David Loew, Sanofi executive vice-president and head of Sanofi Pasteur, in a company press release.

In October 2016, Protein Sciences received approval from FDA for the quadrivalent version of Flublok vaccine (Flublok Quadrivalent vaccine), indicated for adults 18 years and older. The company developed the baculovirus expression system technology (B.E.S.T.) platform for producing recombinant proteins, which it used to create the quadrivalent vaccine.

“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. Specifically, Flublok Quadrivalent vaccine, relative to the comparator, reduced the incidence of lab-confirmed influenza by 30% in this age group,” said Mr. Loew in the press release.

Source: Sanofi