France-based pharmaceutical major Sanofi has acquired the rights to an investigational acne treatment, signalling a move into the lucrative market.

The company’s Sanofi Pasteur unit has signed a collaboration agreement with the University of California, San Diego, US, to focus on acne prevention through an immunological approach.

Sanofi estimates that the worldwide market for acne treatments could be worth in excess of $3bn per year, with more than 50 million people suffering from acne in the US alone.

Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.