Servier’s American cancer experiment

Six years after Servier made its decision to pivot to cancer, the French pharma is on the cusp of being a major player in the space. Through a flurry of deals, the company has added capabilities across at least three modalities and an internal discovery and translational research engine with a fast-growing presence in the U.S.

The private company has its roots in the cardiovascular and diabetes space where it was involved in the rollout of such therapies as ACE inhibitors and calcium channel blockers for hypertension. In diabetes, the company made its mark in the early oral therapies such as sulfonylureas...