French drugmaker, Sanofi SA announced on Tuesday that will stop pouring in money to research diabetes and cardiovascular (DCV).
The news came from Paul Hudson, Sanofi’s CEO who said the company will focus its efforts on other areas including specialty diseases like hemophilia, breast cancer, and multiple sclerosis, as well as vaccines.
Sanofi also announced the company’s decision not to pursue plans to launch efpeglenatide, a GLIP-1 injection for Type 2 diabetes on its website.
Hudson said Sanofi would no longer launch the GLP-1 injection product because of the heavy investment required to catch up.
The news comes amidst rising pressure on drug companies to keep the price of insulin more affordable.
According to a Wall Street Journal article, Sanofi’s diabetes portfolio has been declining for several years amid intense pricing pressure in the U.S. and the launch of a lower-cost competitor.
Despite that, the WSJ reports that Lantus is still Sanofi’s biggest-selling product, and the company plans to hold on its existing diabetes pipeline.
- Sanofi SA. (2019, Dec. 9, 2019). Sanofi CEO unveils a new strategy to drive innovation and growth. Retrieved December 10, 2019, from https://www.sanofi.com/en/media-room/press-releases/2019/2019-12-09-22-42-41