Sanofi plans to create a new European company dedicated to the production and marketing to third parties of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Sanofi expects the new manufacturing company to bring in EUR 1 billion ($1.1 billion) in sales by 2022.

The standalone company would combine Sanofi’s API commercial and development activities with six of its European API production sites: Brindisi (Italy); Frankfurt Chemistry (Germany); Haverhill (UK); St. Aubin les Elbeuf (France); Újpest (Hungary); and Vertolaye (France).

Sanofi says the new company will include 3,100 employees and be headquartered in France. A planned initial public offering on Euronext Paris would be evaluated with a decision expected by 2022, subject to market conditions. Sanofi says the new company would rank as the second-largest API company globally with approximately EUR 1 billion ($1.1 billion) in expected sales by 2022. Sanofi says it intends to establish a long-term customer relationship with the new API company, and it plans to hold a minority stake of approximately 30% in the new company.

Sanofi says the new company will contribute to industry needs by providing manufacturing capacity for Europe and elsewhere. “With increasing medicine shortages that critically impact patient care, the new entity would contribute to supporting and securing API manufacturing as well as supply capacities for Europe and beyond,” said Sanofi in a February 25, 2020 release. “In Europe, the new API industry champion is expected to help in balancing the industry’s heavy reliance on API sourced from the Asian region.”

Source: Sanofi