Paris — France’s largest pharmaceutical firm is eyeing the acquisition of a major U.S. company, Bloomberg.com reports.
Allergan, Biogen Idec and Genzyme stocks rallied in trading on speculation that they may be Sanofi targets, according to the report.
Five people with knowledge of Paris-based Sanofi-Aventis’ inner workings say the company is in the early stages of considering such a transaction, according to the report. Sanofi-Aventis CEO Chris Viehbacher reportedly favors acquisitions as a strategy to help overcome growing competition for the company’s vaccines from makers of generic drugs.
Since Viehbacher joined the company two years ago, Sanofi has invested about $17 billion in 25 acquisitions, most of them small or mid-sized deals of $15 billion or less.
