The biggest recent stories from French healthcare and the life sciences, including Sanofi’s deal to buy immunology biotech Blueprint; the largest from a European pharma this year. Elsewhere Servier is snapping up a experimental leukaemia treatment from China, while French tech firm OWKIN is touting a new “AI-powered research co-pilot” it claims can make biomedical research up to 20 times faster.

 

Sanofi to buy US biopharma group Blueprint for up to $9.5 billion (Reuters)

France’s Sanofi has agreed to buy U.S.-based Blueprint Medicines Corporation for up to $9.5 billion to boost its position in rare immunology diseases, in the biggest deal struck by a European healthcare company so far this year, according to LSEG data.

Blueprint (BPMC.O) is a specialist in treatments for systemic mastocytosis, a rare blood disorder.

The two companies said on Monday that Sanofi (SASY.PA) would initially pay $129.00 per share in cash, or around $9.1 billion. Blueprint shares jumped 27% to $128.74 in premarket trade. Sanofi stock was down about 1%.

 

French doctors rebel: the law that could change medicine forever (EuroWeekly)

French doctors are striking to defend their freedom to practise and the future of healthcare

It’s not often you see doctors swap white coats for protest banners. But this week, across France, surgeries are shutting their doors, and GPs, interns and young medics are making it clear: they’ve had enough.

At the heart of it all is a controversial plan that, if passed, could change the way medicine is practised in France for good — and not, many argue, for the better.

 

Owkin Unveils K Navigator, a Co-pilot to Accelerate Biomedical Research by 20x (World Business Outlook)

Owkin, one of the leading agentic AI companies, has launched K Navigator, an AI-powered research co-pilot designed to revolutionise biomedical science. K Navigator is an agentic playground where researchers can explore, refine, and validate hypotheses, accelerating the quality and pace of their discoveries. With K Navigator, Owkin moves closer to its vision of developing the world’s first Biological Artificial Superintelligence (BASI).

 

France’s pharma giant Sanofi to transfer vaccine production tech to VNVC factory in southern Vietnam (TheInvestor.vn)

Sanofi will transfer vaccine production technology to a Long An province-based factory of Vietnam Vaccine Joint Stock Company (VNVC), whose construction began on Tuesday.

The facility – VNVC Vaccine and Biological Products Factory – marks a step toward realizing the partnership agreement on technology transfer for vaccine production in Vietnam between the two sides.

 

Servier unveils new production unit in France (The Pharma Letter)

French independent pharma major Servier is ramping up its industrial development with the inauguration of a new production unit for the active ingredient of one of its venous medicines.

Venous diseases are among the most common diseases in the world, affecting around 30% of the world’s population, or 2.2 billion patients. Furthermore, the incidence of venous diseases is increasing by 4% each year, with the highest prevalence in Eastern Europe and Latin America (nearly 70%). Current estimates indicate that the number of patients still untreated exceeds 30%.

 

Servier turns to China as it adds menin inhibitor to oncology pipeline (FirstWord Pharma)

Servier is continuing to add to its oncology pipeline, announcing on Friday a deal to acquire an experimental menin inhibitor from Chinese firm BioNova Pharmaceuticals that is currently in Phase I/II development for the treatment of acute leukaemias. While exact financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, Servier will make a cash payment, with BioNova eligible for additional earn-outs.

Claude Bertrand, Servier’s executive vice president of R&D, called BioNova’s asset — dubbed BN104 — “a natural fit” with the company’s focus on developing targeted therapies for genetically defined patient populations. In March, Servier in-licensed Black Diamond Therapeutics’ experimental small molecule BDTX-4933, which targets both RAS mutations and RAF alterations in solid tumours.