Sanofi to start pharmaceutical ingredients company

Although most major drug makers are based in the West, the ingredients for most pharmaceuticals are actually forged in China and India. The French drug maker Sanofi announced yesterday that it wants to take back a portion of the supply chain — and would start a new company that will manufacture the active chemical ingredients for drugs.

The coronavirus outbreak brought the global dependence on China- and India-based drug ingredients “sharply into focus,” Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson told STAT’s Matthew Herper. So Sanofi is looking for another way.

The new company plans an IPO for the new operation, and is projecting sales of 1 billion euros in 2022 — manufacturing materials for Sanofi’s own medicines as well as for other companies. It’ll employ 3,100.