Sanofi Recognized by “Patents for Humanity” Program

BRIDGEWATER, NJ,  November 16, 2016 /3BL Media/ – Sanofi announced today that the U.S. Commerce Department’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has recognized the company in the prestigious “Patents for Humanity” program. Sanofi has been chosen for an Honorable Mention for its sustained commitment to develop the investigational anti-malarial compound Ferroquine.

Critical unmet needs exist in malaria treatment as resistance to currently used artemisinin–based combination therapies (ACT) has been increasing in Southeast Asia¹ and has created a growing concern that drug resistance could spread to Africa, where about 90 percent of the estimated 584,000 annual deaths from malaria occur.²

“Sanofi is humbled to be recognized by the USPTO for a successive year,” stated Laurent Fraisse, Sanofi’s head of the dedicated Infectious Disease Therapeutic Area. “We are deeply committed to the fight against malaria and have been active since the 1930’s in the research and development of anti-malarial drugs.”

The “Patents for Humanity” award is the USPTO’s annual competition to recognize businesses, inventors, non-profits and universities who leverage their intellectual property portfolio to tackle global humanitarian challenges in medicine, nutrition, sanitation, household energy or living standards.

Ferroquine, a compound originated and patented by Lille 1 University - Science and Technology, has been in development by Sanofi for the last ten years. Since 2011, Sanofi and Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), a leading product development partnership in the field of antimalarial drug research and development, have been collaborating to develop a combination of ferroquine and MMV’s investigational compound artefenomel (OZ439). The present project strongly exemplifies Sanofi’s commitment to public-private partnerships that foster innovation.

As part of the Honorable Mention, Sanofi will receive a certificate to accelerate examination of one patent application.

“MMV’s mission is to develop new innovative medicines to cure and protect the vulnerable and under-served populations at risk of malaria and to ultimately eradicate this terrible disease. We can only do this in collaboration with partners such as Sanofi. We congratulate Sanofi on this honor and look forward to continuing to collaborate with them in the fight against malaria,” said David Reddy, CEO of MMV.

Sanofi received a “Patents for Humanity” Award last year for its patent that covers an innovative chemical and industrial process for producing semi-synthetic artemisinin utilized in the production of anti-malarial artemisinin-based combination therapies approved outside the United States.

Sanofi’s Approach to Sustainable Quality Healthcare in Developing Countries

Sanofi is committed to making new anti-malaria medicines affordable for patients most in need by developing affordable medicines, in agreement with the governments of countries where Sanofi provides its support. In addition, the company works to improve access to healthcare for the poorest populations in developing countries. Beyond treatment, the company develops comprehensive, community-based programs with local partners to train healthcare professionals, inform communities and educate patients about the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of malaria and other diseases. Its Access to Medicines department develops sustainable models for providing quality care to the neediest patients for diseases like malaria where the company has recognized expertise.

About Sanofi
Sanofi, a global healthcare leader, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions focused on patients' needs. Sanofi is organized into five global business units: Diabetes and Cardiovascular, General Medicines and Emerging Markets, Sanofi Genzyme, Sanofi Pasteur and Merial. Sanofi is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: SAN) and in New York (NYSE: SNY).

Sanofi is the holding company of a consolidated group of subsidiaries and operates in the United States as Sanofi US. For more information on Sanofi US, please visit http://www.sanofi.us and http://www.news.sanofi.us/social-media or call 1-800-981-2491.

Sanofi Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements include projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives, intentions and expectations with respect to future financial results, events, operations, services, product development and potential, and statements regarding future performance. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "plans" and similar expressions. Although Sanofi's management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Sanofi, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, future clinical data and analysis, including post marketing, decisions by regulatory authorities, such as the FDA or the EMA, regarding whether and when to approve any drug, device or biological application that may be filed for any such product candidates as well as their decisions regarding labelling and other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of such product candidates, the absence of guarantee that the product candidates if approved will be commercially successful, the future approval and commercial success of therapeutic alternatives, the Group's ability to benefit from external growth opportunities, trends in exchange rates and prevailing interest rates, the impact of cost containment initiatives and subsequent changes thereto, the average number of shares outstanding as well as those discussed or identified in the public filings with the SEC and the AMF made by Sanofi, including those listed under "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in Sanofi's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2015. Other than as required by applicable law, Sanofi does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements.

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References

References

1.Science Report 2009. MMV Annual Report 2009. Annual Report May 2010.

2.World Health Organization. Malaria Fact Sheet No 94. Updated April 2014. Available at:  http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/. Accessed April 9, 2015.

World Health Organization. Malaria Fact Sheet. Updated April 2016. Available at:  http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/. Accessed September 27, 2016.