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Dive Brief:
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Sanofi’s first-quarter sales and profit exceeded analyst expectations, but the company held tight on its full-year guidance amid looming threats of new tariffs from the Trump administration and regulatory uncertainty.
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Sales climbed 9.7% to 9.9 billion euros, or $11.3 billion, in the period, beating the consensus analyst estimate of 9.6 billion euros. Earnings for the core business rose almost 16% to 1.79 euros a share, topping the consensus expectation of 1.70 euros a share.
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The French drugmaker benefited from the launch of new drugs and the continuing growth of Dupixent, a blockbuster medicine used to treat conditions including asthma, eczema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The drug’s sales jumped 20% to 3.5 billion euros in the quarter, Sanofi said Thursday.
Dive Insight:
Like other top drugmakers, Sanofi is already seeing the impact of Trump’s trade war with China, a major market for medicines and a top producer of pharmaceutical ingredients. But CFO Francois Roger said Sanofi can’t yet account for Trump’s threat of U.S. tariffs on pharmaceuticals generally because there are no details yet on what those duties will look like.
“We don't know which country they would apply to, which products would be impacted, which rights would be applied, when they will start,” Roger told analysts on a conference call. “But just be aware we have fully factored in whatever has been officially confirmed and announced.”
For 2025, Sanofi expects sales to grow by a mid-to-high single-digit percentage while core business earnings will increase by a low double-digit percentage before the costs of a 5 billion euro share buyback, 72% of which has been completed. The company said it confirmed the guidance for the year “with the knowledge of the external environment we have today.”
Johnson & Johnson last week said Trump’s tariffs will likely cost the company $400 million this year, while Merck & Co. said it’s factoring in about $200 million in costs for tariffs implemented so far. Like Sanofi, Bristol Myers Squibb didn’t give specifics, but raised its guidance for the year even with current tariffs included; the company said it also hasn’t accounted for potential tariffs on the sector as a whole.
Meanwhile, a number of drugmakers are racing to boost their investment in the U.S. amid Trump’s threats. Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, Merck, Novartis and Roche have committed more than $160 billion combined to U.S. drug production in the coming years. Sanofi’s partner for Dupixent, Regeneron, also announced increased investment. Roger suggested such a move could be on the table for the French drugmaker as well.
“We are considering additional measures, potentially including investment in the U.S.,” Roger said on the call. “We are always exploring opportunities to expand our industrial footprint, including in the U.S., to meet both our production needs and the needs of our patients.”