Provention Bio Shares Soar 260% Following $2.9 Billion Sanofi Deal

Commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, Provention Bio (Nasdaq: PRVB) will be acquired by French drugmaker, Sanofi (Nasdaq: SNY) in a deal valued at $2.9 billion.

Provention stock jumped 260% to reach $24.14 in premarket trading on news of the deal.

Highlights

• In November 2022, the FDA approved Provention’s Tzield as a treatment to delay the onset of type 1 diabetes in adults and children who have abnormal blood sugar levels but who have not yet received a clinical diagnosis.
• The FDA noted that while Tzield is not a cure for type 1 diabetes, it could provide patients with months to years without the burdens of disease.
• The agreement would give Sanofi full ownership of Tzield.
• Sanofi plans to fund the deal with cash on hand and expects it to close in the second quarter of this year.
• The acquisition will be the largest deal undertaken by Sanofi since its purchase of Principia Biopharma Inc. for more than $3 billion in 2020.

Provention’s pipeline of experimental therapies includes drugs targeting celiac disease and lupus.