(News Bulletin 247) – The pharmaceutical group, ahead of a day dedicated to R&D, revealed its ambitions for its portfolio of drugs currently in clinical trials. He estimates that he has 12 molecules, each with a sales potential of between 2 billion and more than 5 billion euros at cruising speed.

Sanofi was expected to turn the corner since its sudden strategic shift at the end of October. The French pharmaceutical group had gripped investors by announcing an increase in its R&D spending. This decision led it to anticipate a forecast of falling net profit per share next year, while research firms were expecting growth of 6%, and to abandon a margin target for 2025. The stock then plunged by nearly 19%.

“When you announce a strategy of returning to science and the desire to be a leader in innovation, some investors turn away, even after thirteen consecutive quarters of growth. It takes time for markets to adapt. We need to attract new investors,” explained Paul Hudson, CEO of Sanofi in an interview with Le Figaro.

Twelve molecules that could become “blockbusters”

The pharmaceutical group tried to boast this Thursday, on the occasion of a day dedicated to R&D, the qualities of its “pipeline”, that is to say the molecules in the clinical trial phase which are therefore not not yet authorized and marketed. The idea is also to find growth drivers for the company whose dependence on the blockbuster Dupixent (used for multiple indications including asthma or atopic dermatitis) is regularly singled out by analysts.

In a press release published ahead of today, Sanofi revealed its ambitions. With an emphasis on R&D, the company plans to increase Phase III trials (the final stage before potential commercialization) by 50% in 2024 and 2025 and obtain results from 25 studies at intermediate or late stage over the next few years. next two years.

In total, the group estimates that it has a portfolio of 12 molecules that could constitute new blockbusters in terms of sales. In detail, Sanofi estimates that it has nine drugs and vaccines currently in clinical trials that could each generate between 2 billion and 5 billion euros in revenue per year at cruising speed and three pharmaceutical assets whose sales could amount to more than of 5 billion euros at cruising speed. That’s a total potential ranging from 33 billion to more than 60 billion euros. Sanofi expects to submit these molecules for regulatory authorization between 2024 and 2027 for five of them and beyond 2027 for the other seven.

“If this objective (revenue, editor’s note) were achieved, the launches of innovative drugs would generate a turnover higher than that necessary to replace the sales of Dupixent when its patent expires,” notes UBS.

Dupixent still growing strongly

However, Sanofi did not fail to inform the market about Dupixent’s prospects, counting on annual sales growth in a “lower double-digit range”, which can be interpreted as 10% to 13%, between 2023 and 2030. The molecule would be driven by “new indications, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and greater market penetration in its approved indications,” explains the company.

UBS calculates that the drug would post sales of more than 20 billion euros by 2030 (21.5 billion, according to it) while the consensus expects 20.4 billion euros. In 2022, sales of Dupixent amounted to 8.3 billion.

Beyond Dupixent alone, Sanofi reaffirms its desire to become “a champion of immunology”, a branch of health focused on the immune system, with recent or future launches of pharmaceutical assets which will increase by more than 10 billion euros. euros its turnover by 2030.

Furthermore, the vaccine activity alone is expected to generate revenues of more than 10 billion euros, still by 2030, compared to 7.2 billion in 2022.

On the Paris Stock Exchange, Sanofi’s announcements hardly excite investors. Sanofi shares fell 1.4% to 84.96 euros around 2:45 p.m. in a declining market, with the CAC 40 losing 0.2% at the same time.