French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi is exploring a potential acquisition of cancer drugmaker Mirati Therapeutics Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.
Sanofi has been studying a deal for Mirati, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.
Deliberations are ongoing and there’s no certainty they will result in an agreement. Mirati could also attract interest from other suitors, the people said.
A spokesperson for Mirati said that it doesn’t comment on market rumors or speculation. A representative for Sanofi also said it doesn’t comment on market rumors.
Mirati shares rose 9.7% to $47.07 at 2:25 p.m. in New York trading Thursday, giving the San Diego-based company a market value of about $3.2 billion.
Mirati is in the process of rolling out its first product to patients, a drug called Krazati that’s used as a second-line treatment for a type of lung cancer in which the the KRAS gene has mutated. The company received accelerated approval from the Food and Drug Administration for the drug in December.
A sale would give Mirati further resources to help it commercialize the treatment and fund further studies.
Since August, the company’s chief executive and chief financial officers have stepped down. Bloomberg News reported last year that it was drawing takeover interest from large pharmaceutical companies.
Sanofi has been aggressively adding to its portfolio of treatments. It struck two deals this week to gain new experimental treatments for bowel disese and an invasive form of a digestive pathogen.
Author: Michelle F. Davis, Dinesh Nair and Albertina Torsoli
