LONDON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - French drugmaker Sanofi said on Thursday it expects high-single-digit sales growth in 2026, mostly on the back of its top-selling asthma drug Dupixent, which is set to lose key patents beginning in 2031.
Following a string of trial data last year that underwhelmed investors and a series of bolt-on acquisitions, Sanofi is still searching for new medicines that could help drive growth in a post-Dupixent era.
Shares of the drugmaker slid nearly 12% last year, largely underperforming the broader European sector index.
Sanofi's chief financial officer François-Xavier Roger said that the company will not be able to offset the loss of sales once Dupixent, its largest revenue driver, comes off patent.
"We believe that we will not be able to mitigate the impact of the (loss of exclusivity) of Dupixent as far as sales are concerned. It's too big to be mitigated," Roger said on a call with journalists.
He added, however, that Sanofi was working to soften the impact on an earnings per share basis through products already on the market, the development pipeline through 2031 and external acquisitions.
Sanofi's largest deal in 2025 was a $9.5 billion acquisition of Blueprint Medicines that added an approved drug, Ayvakit, for a rare blood disorder to its portfolio.
COMBINATION OF PRODUCTS WILL DRIVE GROWTH, CFO SAYS
Quarterly sales of Dupixent, which Sanofi makes with partner Regeneron (REGN.O), opens new tab, were 4.25 billion euros ($5.09 billion) for the fourth quarter, compared with 4.05 billion euros expected on average by analysts.
Beyond Dupixent, Sanofi said sales growth will come from newly launched medicines such as blood disorder treatments Wayrilz and ALTUVIIIO, as well as acquired products like Ayvakit.
Quarterly sales of Ayvakit were 168 million euros. Analysts predict sales will grow gradually to 1.1 billion euros in 2027, according to consensus estimate provided by the company.
"It's not a single product, it's a collection of products," said Roger, referring to revenue drivers for the year. He said Dupixent sales are also expected to grow.
Analysts forecast Dupixent sales to grow to 17 billion euros for 2026, from 15.7 billion euros this year.
Sanofi forecast business operating income to grow slightly faster than sales this year, and plans to buy back 1 billion euros in shares. In 2025, Sanofi completed a 5-billion-euro share buyback programme.
"We anticipate profitable growth to continue over at least five years," CEO Paul Hudson said in a statement.
For the fourth quarter, business operating income was 2.34 billion euros, compared to 2.37 billion euros expected on average by analysts in a company-provided poll.
WEAKNESS IN VACCINE SALES DUE TO TRUMP POLICY SHIFT
CFO Roger said that while the pharma business is expected to grow, sales from vaccines will be "slightly negative" for the year partly due to changes in U.S. policy under the Trump administration.
"Dosing, administration, and insurance coverage remain largely the same ... It's more a perception issue more than anything else," he said on a call with journalists.
"The change of vaccine policy may have an impact, but it's difficult to quantify at this stage. It might be slightly negative, but it's too early to say and to quantify," Roger added.
CEO Hudson had hinted at near-term weakness in vaccine sales earlier this month at a healthcare conference, citing scepticism in immunizations fuelled by "misinformation" from the Trump administration.
Robert F Kennedy Jr. - a longtime vaccine skeptic, who has cast doubt on the safety and efficacy of vaccines in contradiction of scientific evidence - has moved quickly to change U.S. vaccine policy since taking over the Department of Health and Human Services.
Hudson had said that the uncertainty has created favourable conditions for vaccine-focused mergers and acquisitions.
Last year, Sanofi agreed to buy adult vaccine maker Dynavax Technologies for $2.2 billion in December, and closed its $1.5 billion acquisition of British private vaccine developer Vicebio in July.
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