| 16 Juin 2016
In the company’s latest whitepaper*,  Gianfranco Zeppetelli, GlobalData’s Deals Analyst, explains: “Sanofi  inked two key partnerships for metabolic indications, the first of which  was a $4.3 billion partnership with South Korea’s Hanmi Pharma. Sanofi  gained exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize three  pipeline products for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. “Sanofi also made a $1.7  billion agreement with Lexicon Pharma to manufacture and sell  sotagliflozin (LX-4211), an investigational oral dual inhibitor of  SGLT-1 and SGLT-2 currently in Phase III development.” GlobalData’s whitepaper states that there has been a surge in investment of deals in the Immuno-Oncology (I-O) space over the past five years, as immunotherapies have advanced  significantly, becoming the pillar of cancer treatment. In the I-O  space, Sanofi signed a $2.7 billion deal to co-develop Regeneron’s  REGN-2810, a programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor currently  in Phase I testing. Another important I-O  partnership was Pfizer’s $2.9 billion agreement with Merck KGaA to  develop and commercialize avelumab (MSB-0010718C), an investigational  anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody in Phase II development as a potential  treatment for multiple metastatic and advanced solid tumors, including  breast and prostate cancer. Under the terms of the agreement, Merck KGaA  will receive an upfront payment of $850 million and is eligible to  receive regulatory and commercial milestone payments of up to  approximately $2 billion. Zeppetelli continues:  “Pharma companies are adapting to current market dynamics and  positioning themselves for growth through portfolio transformation,  targeted deal-making, cost-cutting measures, and sharpening their focus  on high-performing therapeutic areas, and geographic markets.” “We believe deal prices  will continue to rise in 2016, as many big pharma companies look to  increase their market share in specific therapeutic areas against their  competitors.”
LONDON, UK (GlobalData),  16 June 2016 - Licensing deal values in the pharmaceutical industry rose  by 37.1% year-to-year, from $33.7 billion in 2014 to $46.2 billion in  2015, driven primarily by Sanofi, which struck three licensing deals  that totaled nearly $9 billion, according to research and consulting  firm GlobalData.