Shares of Provention Bio (NASDAQ: PRVB) skyrocketed by more than 200% in pre-market trading on Monday after the biopharmaceutical company announced that Sanofi (SNY) will acquire the company for $25.00 per share in cash, indicating an equity value of around $2.9 billion.
As a result of this acquisition, Sanofi will add TZIELD (teplizumab-mzwv), a first-in-class therapy drug for Type-1 Diabetes to its core asset portfolio. TZIELD was approved in the United States last year as the first and only therapy to delay the onset of Stage 3 type 1 diabetes (T1D) in adults and pediatric patients aged 8 years and older with Stage 2 T1D.
Olivier Charmeil, EVP, General Medicines, Sanofi commented, “By coupling Provention Bio’s transformative innovation with Sanofi’s expertise, we aim to bring life-changing benefits to people at risk of developing Stage 3 type 1 diabetes. Any additional indications, approvals and pipeline assets only serve to further our excitement.”
The acquisition is expected to complete in the second quarter of this year.
PRVB stock is down by more than 30% year-to-date.
