By Bhanvi Satija and Mariam Sunny
LONDON, April 23 (Reuters) – Sanofi beat first-quarter estimates on Thursday as demand for its asthma and eczema drug Dupixent remained high, though analysts looked to incoming CEO Belén Garijo to ignite growth beyond the blockbuster drug.
Shares of the Paris-based firm rose nearly 3% in morning trading. Belén Garijo, a former Sanofi executive who later led Germany’s Merck, is set to take charge by the end of the month.
Sanofi’s results come after the sudden ouster of former CEO Paul Hudson in February after he failed to revive the company’s drug pipeline and was hit by a string of disappointing trial updates for treatments hoped to reduce reliance on Dupixent.
Garijo will need to address investor concerns about finding a successor to Dupixent that makes up around a third of revenues and faces key patent expiries in the earlier 2030s.
“The arrival of Belén will be an occasion … to revisit if we want to expand into potentially other therapeutic areas,” CFO François‑Xavier Roger said on a call with journalists. “It is true that last year we had a certain number of setbacks.”
DUPIXENT GROWTH OUTLOOK BRIGHTENS
Sanofi now expects Dupixent to generate about $30 billion in annual sales by 2030, Roger said, above earlier forecasts of some $25 billion sales that year. Analysts expect sales of 23.77 billion euros or around $27 billion in 2030 for Dupixent.
Roger said penetration of biologic treatments like Dupixent remains low across its main markets leaving room for growth even as rival drugs enter. He said Sanofi remained “very positive” about Dupixent’s outlook.
First-quarter sales of the drug, developed with U.S. partner Regeneron, rose around 31% at constant exchange rates to 4.17 billion euros ($4.88 billion), topping expectations of 3.89 billion euros.
“Although Dupixent beating is a positive, we note the market would have liked less reliance on Dupixent, and greater contribution from assets that provide more diversification and longer patent life,” Barclays analysts said in a note.
OVERALL SALES BEAT, VACCINES UNDER PRESSURE
Sanofi reaffirmed its expectations of a high-single-digit percentage sales growth at constant currency rates for the year, with business operating income expected to grow slightly faster.
Sanofi reported total sales of 10.51 billion euros ($12.29 billion) for the quarter ended March 31, 2026. Analysts on average expected sales of 10.22 billion euros, according to data compiled by Vara Research.
Quarterly business operating income was 2.97 billion euros ($3.47 billion), beating estimates of 2.85 billion euros.
The vaccines unit posted sales of 1.29 billion euros ($1.51 billion), up around 2% at constant exchange rates and in line with expectations, as demand for combined polio and pertussis vaccines partly offset weaker sales of flu and RSV shots.
However, CFO Roger said vaccine sales would have declined by about 2% in the quarter without the contribution from Dynavax’s vaccines, which Sanofi acquired in December for $2.2 billion.
Sanofi expects vaccine sales to decline slightly this year, partly due to changes in U.S. vaccine policy under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
($1 = 0.8543 euros)
(Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in London and Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
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