Sanofi makes $548M deal for Acambis

Sanofi Pasteur has inked a deal to buy vaccine-maker Acambis for about $548 million (£276 million), a 64 percent per-share premium. The two companies had already been working together on a couple of in-pipeline products, including dengue, West Nile virus, and Japanese encephalitis vaccines. But Acambis' most valuable product is its smallpox vaccine, for which it recently won a $425 million, 10-year contract to supply the U.S. government.

The deal is further evidence of the strength in the vaccines market, once seen as a sort of also-ran in the pharma biz. Nowadays, vaccines are becoming favored assets as they prove more profitable, thanks to scientific advances and various emerging infectious disease problems.

- check out Sanofi's release
- read the Financial Times article

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