Sanofi upgrades 2026 guidance after 17.8% Q2 sales growth
Sanofi has upgraded its full-year 2026 guidance after recording net sales of €11.6 billion in the second quarter, a rise of 17.8% at constant exchange rates (CER). Business earnings per share reached €2.09, up 33.3% at CER, supported by what the company described as disciplined cost management and several one-off benefits.
The French pharmaceuticals giant said the strong H1 performance, combined with an expectation of normalising growth in the second half, justifies raising its full-year sales growth outlook to around 10% at CER, with business EPS expected to grow slightly faster than sales. At July 2026 average exchange rates, currency headwinds are estimated at approximately 1% on sales and 2% on business EPS.
Growth drivers and pipeline update
The headline growth story remains Dupixent, the IL-4/IL-13 receptor antagonist developed with Regeneron, which posted Q2 sales of €5.2 billion, a 37.6% increase and the first time the drug has exceeded €5 billion in a single quarter. The company has also set a 2030 sales target for Dupixent of around €25 billion, complemented by approximately €10 billion from pharma launches, both at CER.
Beyond Dupixent, the pharma launches portfolio grew 48.3% to €1.3 billion, driven primarily by Ayvakit (avapritinib, for PDGFRA-mutant GIST and systemic mastocytosis), ALTUVIIIO (fitusiran, the haemophilia A and B therapy Sanofi acquired via the Ablynx and Bioverativ lineage), and Sarclisa (isatuximab, for multiple myeloma). Vaccines revenues fell 4.7% to €1.1 billion, reflecting a challenging prior-year comparator in influenza.
On the pipeline, Sanofi reported seven regulatory approvals in the quarter across immunology, rare diseases, oncology, and neurology, alongside two positive Phase 3 readouts: Nexviazyme (avalglucosidase alfa) in infantile-onset Pompe disease and amlitelimab as maintenance therapy in atopic dermatitis. Four additional regulatory submission acceptances and four designations, including priority review and breakthrough status, were also disclosed.
The company simultaneously announced pipeline rationalisation measures. Amlitelimab, despite its positive maintenance readout in atopic dermatitis, will not progress to global regulatory submission; the clinical development programmes for itepekimab and balinatunfib have been discontinued. Sanofi characterised these as deliberate prioritisation decisions under incoming chief executive Belén Garijo, who formally took the top role earlier this year and described her early tenure as focused on an "accelerated transformation roadmap."
Market context and competitive read-across
Sanofi's results arrive at a moment of notable dynamism across the large-cap immunology and rare-disease pharmaceuticals space. Dupixent's sustained trajectory reinforces the durability of the IL-4/IL-13 axis as a treatment target; AstraZeneca's tezepelumab and several late-stage anti-TSLP and anti-IL-33 candidates represent the most credible competitive pressure in the broader type-2 inflammatory disease segment, though no head-to-head data have yet reshaped prescribing patterns significantly.
The decision not to file amlitelimab globally is likely to attract analyst attention. An anti-OX40L antibody with a differentiated mechanism, it had been positioned as a potential atopic dermatitis challenger to Dupixent, and its deprioritisation signals that Sanofi's pipeline review is yielding consequential, not merely cosmetic, changes. R&D expenditure rose 17.9% to €2.2 billion in the quarter, partly reflecting the cost of those prioritisation decisions.
Free cash flow of €2.7 billion in Q2, up 86.8%, and the completion of a €1 billion share buyback programme underline the financial flexibility that Garijo will need as Sanofi pursues what she described as "external growth opportunities" over the medium term. IFRS net income fell sharply to €343 million, down 91.3%, though the company attributed the divergence from business net income to non-recurring items captured in the IFRS reconciliation.