Sanofi, Gilead eyeing the takeover of Tesaro

According to a report by Street Insider, French giant Sanofi and Gilead Sciences are eyeing the takeover of the Massachusetts biotech company Tesaro.

The company that acquires Tesaro will get access to Zejula, a PARP inhibitor approved to treat women with ovarian cancer. Zejula was rolled out this year after it won the FDA approval in March. The drug was launched with $118,000 price tag. Street Insider said that the takeover of Tesaro would value the company at about $10 billion, or $185 per share.

For both Gilead and Sanofi the deal, once materializes, will help in grabbing a large portion of the untapped market and strengthening their product portfolio. Analysts have hailed Zejula, or niraparib, as one of 2017’s biggest launches, with estimated 2022 sales of $1.9 billion. Though these figures are enticing, the very launch of Zejula has made Tesaro an expensive prospect for takeover.

While being the 8th most common cancer among women, ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death among women, and is the deadliest of gynecologic cancers. Mortality rates are slightly higher for Caucasian women than for African-American women.