Sanofi believes it can make a comeback and re-establish a leading position in the competitive cancer drug market on the back of its immunotherapy drugs and efforts in new areas such as molecular oncology.

Every year tens of thousands of cancer researchers, doctors, investors and analysts travel to Chicago in early June for the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. It's the largest conference in the drug industry's hottest field. 

A Regeneron/Sanofi team has a target date for launching the world’s 6th PD-1/L1 checkpoint inhibitor. And while they may be late to the growing league of rivals — dominated by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck — they plan to enter with a market splash, with considerable assistance from FDA regulators who are steel keen to expand the field.