PARIS (Reuters) - Sanofi (PA:SASY) sees a strong strategic fit with Medivation (O:MDVN) even though its tie-up proposal was rejected by the U.S. cancer drug maker last week, the company's chief executive said on Wednesday.
The French drugmaker went public with a $9.3 billion proposal to buy Medivation on April 28 but the target said offer undervalued the company and its pipeline of drugs.
U.S firm Pfizer (N:PFE) has also approached Medivation to express interest in an acquisition, raising the possibility of a bid rivaling Sanofi's, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
"We have a strong strategic complementarity with this company," Sanofi Chief Executive Olivier Brandicourt said of Medivation at the group's annual shareholder meeting in Paris.
He didn't say if Sanofi would raise its offer.
"We will only move forward to a point where we create value," Sanofi chairman Serge Weinberg said. "Of course, it is out of question to say here where that point is."
Sanofi is keen to boost its presence in cancer treatments and already has teamed up last year with U.S firm Regeneron (O:REGN) in immuno-oncology.
Immuno-oncology differs from traditional treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy as its uses or enhances the patient’s own immune system to be able to stop the growth of cancer cells.
Brandicourt said much had still to be done to catch up with rivals such as Switzerland's Roche (S:ROG) or Novartis (S:NOVN).
"We are making progress with Regeneron but coming back to Medivation, the complementarity comes from the fact they are very involved in prostate cancer," Brandicourt said.
Based in San Francisco, Medivation is known for its prostate cancer treatment Xtandi while Sanofi markets its own drug for the disease, Jevtana.