The take outs in biotech continues

On 2 June 2025, the French pharmaceutical company announced its agreement to acquire the Boston-based biotech company Blueprint Medicines in a deal valued at 9.5 billion USD. The acquisition centres on Blueprint's flagship drug, Ayvakit (avapritinib), which is the only approved treatment for advanced systemic mastocytosis in both the EU and the US. Ayvakit generated USD 150 million in sales in the first quarter of 2025, with projected peak annual sales of around USD 2 billion. Systemic mastocytosis is an immunological disease involving the overactivation of mast cells, which build up in the organs and cause severe allergy-like symptoms. In severe cases, the disease can damage the organs.

Beyond the Ayvakit drug, Sanofi will gain access to Blueprint’s immunology pipeline, which includes several compounds focused on immunology. Among these is a Phase III asset that is also aimed at different types of mastocytosis.

This acquisition will add important diversification to Sanofi’s product portfolio, reducing its reliance on its blockbuster eczema drug Dupixent.

In addition to the cash offer of USD 129 per share, Blueprint shareholders will also receive CVRs (milestone-related extra payments) of up to USD 6 per share. Overall, the deal represents a premium of 33% including the CVRs, or 27% based on the cash payment alone.

Blueprint is one of the companies in the Commercial Biotech segment of the fund. This segment consists of companies with an innovative pipeline that are also mature enough to have a marketed product. This segment is attractive to larger companies as commercial drugs can be easily incorporated into their product portfolios with minimal development risk. As many of these companies have generally been traded down due to market uncertainty and poor biotech sentiment, several of them are currently trading at low valuations. At these levels, industrial buyers recognize value.