sanofi (SAN) Snapshot

Elder Pharmaceuticals (BSE:532322) has reportedly mandated Ernst & Young and Nomura Securities to manage a formal process to find a buyer through a negotiated transaction. The company's advisors are currently doing a vendor due-diligence at the corporate office in Mumbai to review the business ahead of offering assets to a potential buyer, said two people close to the transaction. "Vendor due-diligence is on for the last two weeks. Some days, it goes on till late in the evening. It is done with the help of a virtual data room. A clearer picture of potential buyers will emerge in the next 15 days," one of the two people quoted above said. Alok Saxena, Managing Director, Elder Pharmaceuticals, said in an e-mail response: "These are just market rumours." According to Economic Times, Ernst & Young and Nomura did not answer specific queries on the subject. The promoters' move to sell the company has sparked interest from India's large pharma companies and multinationals as it helps them access three brands including popular calcium supplement Shelcal. Pharma multinationals such as Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE); GlaxoSmithKline plc (LSE:GSK); and Sanofi (ENXTPA:SAN) and some Japanese companies are understood to be among the players that have evinced an initial interest. Some are in the process of appointing bankers ahead of signing non-disclosure agreements. According to Economic Times, Pfizer, Sanofi and GSK did not answer specific queries on the subject. The company is likely to be valued at INR 30 billion as promoters of Indian pharma companies recently cashed out at a valuation of three to four times of annual sales of their respective companies.

Sanofi announced results of two Phase 3 clinical studies of its investigational compounds iniparib and otamixaban respectively. The randomized Phase 3 ECLIPSE trial of iniparib in squamous non-small cell lung cancer (Sq NSCLC) did not meet its primary endpoint. In the study, newly diagnosed, metastatic Sq NSCLC patients treated with iniparib plus chemotherapy did not achieve improvement in overall survival compared to patients who received chemotherapy alone. There were no clinically meaningful differences in the main safety parameters between the two arms. The results of a Phase 2 study of iniparib in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer do not support further development of iniparib in this patient population. Following these findings, Sanofi has decided to terminate the internal development program with iniparib. As a consequence, the intangible assets related to iniparib will be fully impaired on the June 30, 2013 consolidated balance sheet. The related charge will have an estimated net impact of $285 million after tax on consolidated net income (or approximately €219 million). This non-cash charge will have no impact on Business Net Income. The results of the completed Phase 3 study of the investigational anticoagulant otamixaban showed the study did not meet its primary endpoint of superiority over current therapy. In the TAO study (Treatment of non-ST elevation Acute coronary syndrome with otamixaban), due to efficacy lower than expected, otamixaban did not show superior benefit/risk to the combination of unfractionated heparin (UFH) +/- eptifibatide (a GP IIb/IIIa inhibitor) in non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) patients planned for early invasive strategy. The primary endpoint of the Phase 3 TAO study was the reduction of all-cause mortality or new heart attacks.

Sanofi announced the appointment of David Loew, as Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe, effective July 01, 2013. He will report to Peter Guenter in his new role as Executive Vice President, Global Commercial Operations. David will join the global leadership team and become Chairman of the European Strategic Committee. As Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe, David Loew will be responsible for 38 countries organized into direct countries and Multi Country Organizations. David will be responsible for defining the commercial strategy for the region and lead its effective execution through more than 9,000 employees. David Loew will join Sanofi from Roche Pharmaceuticals where he is currently Regional Head Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa.