Sanofi Shares Rise After Company Agrees To Sell Nichi-Iko Pharma Stake

Shares of Sanofi SA (ADR) (NYSE: SNY) were trading higher by nearly 5 percent on Monday after the company agreed to sell its stake in Japan-based Nichi-Iko Pharma.According to France-based Boursier.com, Sanofi will sell its 4.76 percent stake in Nichi-Iko Pharma which is valued at approximately 55.7 millions euros. The publication added that the sale will take place prior to Tuesday's market session.Investors were also encouraged by an announcement that Sanofi and its vaccines global business unit Sanofi Paste announced the first public dengue immunization program has started in the Philippines. The program will result in the vaccination of 1 million students across 6,000 public schools this year in 3 highly dengue-endemic regions of the country.Olivier Charmeil, Executive Vice President, Sanofi Pasteur, commends the Philippines on the launch of the first public dengue immunization program in the world: "The Philippines' scientific and healthcare communities have been important collaborators in the development of Dengvaxia®, participating in all three phases of the clinical study program that involved over 40,000 individuals from 15 countries. Ensuring access to this approved vaccine in a public immunization program attests to the Filipino health authority's commitment to add this new dengue prevention tool to their integrated disease management strategy for a disease that continues to represent a major public health threat to their country."