Sanofi says diabetes drug Lantus safe

French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis defended its blockbuster Lantus drug on Thursday after an analyst note raised concerns over the diabetes drug’s safety, pushing the company’s shares lower.

“Data from clinical studies covering over 70,000 patients as well as data from post marketing surveillance confirms a strong safety profile of Lantus,” Sanofi spokesman Geoffroy Bessaud said.

“Patient safety is a top priority for Sanofi-Aventis and all our products are monitored continuously,” he said.

Lantus is expected to become Sanofi’s top-selling drug this year. It made sales of 2.45 billion euros ($3.45 billion) in 2008.

UBS analyst Gbola Amusa wrote in a research note that “in discussions with physicians we could not confirm any safety risk but did hear a number of long-established safety concerns, in particular that Lantus use may promote cancer”.

“We do believe that databases are being examined to assess this or other risks and cannot rule out publication of results in the coming weeks,” Amusa added. He rates Sanofi shares “sell”.

Sanofi’s Bessaud declined any further comment on Lantus.

He also declined to comment on speculation that Sanofi was interested in buying Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca.

Many analysts expect Sanofi, which is struggling with upcoming patent expiries and a relatively weak drug pipeline, to stick to its strategy of focusing on deals of up to 15 billion euros. But some do not exclude a big takeover that could lead to major cost cuts and drive earnings.

PARIS (Reuters)