Sanofi said it plans to separate from its consumer healthcare business — a move the company says will allow it to focus more on creating "transformative medicine and vaccines."
Sanofi's consumer healthcare unit includes well-known allergy and pain treatment brands, such as Allegra and IcyHot. The spinoff could be completed as early as the fourth quarter of 2024.
"Sanofi is reviewing potential separation scenarios, but believes the most likely path would be through a capital markets transaction, by creating a listed entity headquartered in France," the company said in an Oct. 27 news release.
Sanofi is the latest drugmaker to separate its consumer health business, following similar moves from Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and GSK. Once Sanofi completes the split, Bayer will be the largest drugmaker left with such a business under its umbrella, according to The Wall Street Journal.
"It allows Sanofi to become a pure play biopharma company. We'll be more agile and more focused in our key areas of strength," the company's CEO, Paul Hudson, told the news outlet.