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Sanofi (SNY) Acquires Tidal to Aid mRNA-Based Research Platform

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Sanofi (SNY - Free Report) announced that it has acquired Cambridge, MA-based privately held small biotech, Tidal Therapeutics for an upfront payment of $160 million. With the acquisition, the French pharma giant will add an innovative mRNA-based research platform with applications in oncology, immunology, and other disease areas, to its portfolio.

Please note that Tidal Therapeutics uses a novel mRNA-based approach for in vivo reprogramming of immune cells.

Per the press release, the new technology platform will diversify Sanofi’s research capabilities in both immuno-oncology and inflammatory diseases, as well as other diseases. Also, the off-the-shelf approach has the potential to bring CAR-T cell therapy to a broader patient population

Sanofi is also entitled to pay up to $310 million upon achievement of certain milestones to Tidal Therapeutics.

Shares of Sanofi have increased 4.5% so far this year while the industry has remained flat.

price chart for SNY


We note that Sanofi has significantly stepped up its acquisition and alliance activity over the years. Last September, Sanofi bought San Francisco-based late-stage biotech Principia Biopharma, which strengthened its presence in autoimmune and allergic diseases. This acquisition added Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors for immune-mediated diseases, SAR442168 and rilzabrutinib, to Sanofi’s pipeline.

In early 2020, Sanofi bought small cancer biotech Synthorx, which added its lead pipeline asset, THOR-707, to Sanofi’s immuno-oncology portfolio.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Sanofi completed the acquisition of Kymab, adding to its immunology portfolio the latter’s lead pipeline candidate, KY1005– a potential treatment for a range of immune and inflammatory diseases. The acquisition builds on Sanofi’s leading presence in immunology.

In a separate press release, Sanofi announced that it is planning to invest €400 million over a period of five years to create a unique vaccine production center in Singapore to strengthen its vaccine-manufacturing capacities.

With this new site, Sanofi will be able to produce innovative vaccines on a massive scale for the Asian market and address future pandemic risks.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Sanofi currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the healthcare sector include AbbVie Inc. (ABBV - Free Report) , Repligen Corporation (RGEN - Free Report) and Zoetis Inc. (ZTS - Free Report) all carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

AbbVie’s earnings estimates have been revised 0.4% upward for 2021 and 1.1% upward for 2022 over the past 60 days. The stock has inched up 0.4% year to date.

Repligen’s earnings estimates have been revised 15.1% upward for 2021 and 9.8% upward for 2022 over the past 60 days. The stock has increased 7.5% year to date.

Zoetis earnings estimates have been revised 5.2% upward for 2021 and 4.2% upward for 2022 over the past 60 days.

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