Medivation develops and commercializes medically innovative therapies to treat severe diseases for which there are limited treatment options.
The company has one marketed prostate cancer therapy, Xtandi, and two more oncology assets in clinical development.
Sanofi said its all-cash offer would not be contingent on any financing conditions. The proposed purchase price represents a premium of more than 50% to Medivation’s two-month volume weighted average price before takeover speculation started.
The propose transaction would create a stronger firm with a range of offerings for the treatment of prostate cancer throughout the continuum of care, from urologists to oncologists.
Sanofi CEO Olivier Brandicourt said: "Last November, Sanofi outlined our mid-term strategy which includes rebuilding our position in oncology, one of the largest and fastest growing therapeutic areas in the biopharmaceutical sector.
"With Medivation’s best-in-class offerings in prostate cancer, we believe a combination would benefit patients and, at the same time, generate value for shareholders of both companies."
Medivation advised its stockholders to not to take any action at this time as there were no assurances a transaction will be reached or on what terms.
Earlier this month, several reports indicated that AstraZeneca was also holding internal discussions on a potential bid for Medivation.
Last month, the US Food and Drug Administration lifted the partial clinical hold on Medivation ‘s investigational new drug (IND) application for pidilizumab (MDV9300) in hematological malignancies.
Image: Sanofi building in Beijing, China. Photo: courtesy of Sanofi.