Sept. 22 Quick Takes: Sanofi, two others sought Kadmon deal

Two other biopharmas were exploring deals with Kadmon Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:KDMN) as the biotech’s discussions with Sanofi (Euronext:SAN; NASDAQ:SNY) progressed from conversations about a partnership to three escalating takeout bids, culminating in a $1.9 billion transaction. In a regulatory filing late Tuesday, Kadmon said an undisclosed European company had already expressed interest in a deal by the time Sanofi’s outreach began in June; that party withdrew from the bidding, however, and a second undisclosed company fell behind in its due diligence as Sanofi’s pursuit intensified. The French pharma bid $7 per share on Aug. 4, then $9 on Aug. 9 before its final $9.50 bid on Aug. 18 led to a deal executed Sept. 7, giving Sanofi FDA-approved ROCK2 inhibitor Rezurock belumosudil to treat graft-versus-host disease.

Sichuan Clover Biopharmaceuticals Inc. plans to seek conditional approval of its COVID-19 vaccine from China’s NMPA, EMA, WHO and other regulatory authorities next quarter after reporting overall efficacy of 67% against COVID-19 of any severity caused by any strain in the 30,000-patient Phase II/III SPECTRA study. The adjuvanted, protein-based SCB-2019 met the primary and secondary endpoints in the double-blind, randomized study conducted in adults, including elderly volunteers, in five countries across four continents. CEPI funded the study as part of an investment of up to $328 million to develop and enable equitable access to SCB-2019...