Sanofi confident for 2019 despite Q3 sales slip

Drug company Sanofi expressed confidence for the fourth quarter and confirmed its full-year objectives on Thursday after posting lower third-quarter sales, hit by a fall in revenue at its primary care business and a drop in vaccines.

Sales at the French drugmaker's vaccines unit were down 9.8 per cent at constant exchange rates as a result of a decision by the World Health Organisation this year to delay its choice of recommended compositions of influenza virus vaccines.

Chief financial officer Jean-Baptiste de Chatillon told reporters the company expected more invoices to translate into sales in the fourth quarter. Over the first nine months of the year, vaccines sales rose 3.9 per cent to €3.8 billion.

Quarterly sales of Sanofi’s primary care unit, which includes diabetes and cardiovascular medications, were down 17.5 per cent to €2.2 billion, reflecting falling prices for diabetes products in the United States, the world’s largest health market.