Sanofi is nearing a sale of a 50% stake in its consumer unit, valued at 16 billion euros in total, to boost clinical trials for next-generation drugs. CEO Paul Hudson's spending plans were initially met with a massive stock market slump a year ago but the shares have rebounded.

French drug maker Sanofi on Friday posted stronger earnings growth than analysts had expected in the third quarter, helped by earlier-than-anticipated sales of seasonal vaccines.

The French drugmaker’s newly launched respiratory syncytial virus antibody Beyfortus far exceeded analyst expectations, bringing in almost $700 million in the third quarter. Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger in a Friday note to investors said Sanofi expects Q4 Beyfortus sales similar to Q3.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) shares gained on Friday after the French pharma giant exceeded analysts' estimates with its Q3 thanks mainly to earlier-than-anticipated vaccine sales and a 22% YoY rise in sales from its asthma therapy Dupixent.