Sanofi snaps up Provention for $2.9 billion

Sanofi has agreed to buy Provention Bio, a drug developer geared towards intercepting and preventing autoimmune diseases, for $2.9 billion. The deal gives Sanofi access to Provention’s newly-approved TZIELD, which the firms say is the first therapy to postpone the onset of Stage 3 type 1 diabetes (T1D) in adults and kids age 8 and older with Stage 2 T1D. The two firms already had a co-promotion agreement for TZIELD. “Given our existing partnership and complementary work in the diabetes and immunology spaces, we foresee a seamless integration and execution,” says Olivier Charmeil, Sanofi’s executive vice president of general medicines.