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Sanofi raises profit forecast after second quarter beat

FILE PHOTO: Sanofi logo is seen during the company's annual results news conference in Paris, France

By Matthias Blamont

PARIS (Reuters) -Sanofi raised its 2021 profit forecast on Thursday after its vaccines and star eczema treatment Dupixent helped it beat second-quarter results expectations.

The French drugmaker said it was now targeting earnings per share growth of around 12% at constant exchange rates this year, up from "high single digit" percentage growth previously.

Sanofi, which shocked investors last year with a delay to a COVID-19 vaccine it is developing with Britain's GlaxoSmithKline, reiterated its confidence in the shot, which it hopes will secure regulatory approval by the end of the year.

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Europe's drug regulator said last week it had started a real-time review of the vaccine.

If approved, Sanofi's shot will come long after ones from Pfizer/BioNTech, and Moderna, which have produced efficacy results of more than 90%.

But the French company believes its vaccine could play a significant role in tackling the pandemic, as many parts of the world still have a pressing need for doses.

In countries already rolling out mass vaccinations, Sanofi also sees a potential role for the shot as a booster, as many regulators contemplate recommending a third dose to extend protection.

So far, Sanofi has purchasing agreements with the United States, the European Union, Britain and Canada, as well as with the World Health Organization-backed COVAX facility.

The company has also pledged to help other COVID-19 vaccine makers this year, striking "fill and finish" deals for shots made by Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

Sales of Dupixent, which is sold to patients with eczema but also prescribed for other conditions such as asthma, jumped 57% to 1.24 billion euros ($1.47 billion).

Revenue at the vaccines unit was up 16.2% to 1 billion euros, helped by stronger demand for booster and meningitis shots.

Overall, Sanofi's sales rose 12.4% in the second quarter to 8.74 billion euros, while business net income - a figure the company uses as its core metric to measure profits - was up 16.8% to 1.73 billion euros.

Analysts polled by Refinitiv had on average been expecting sales of 8.5 billion euros and net income of 1 billion euros.

($1 = 0.8436 euros)

(Reporting by Matthias BlamontEditing by Jacqueline Wong and Mark Potter)