Press releases and press packs are intended to journalists, investors and shareholders.
Lyon, France – December 16, 2009
Sanofi Pasteur obtains license from Syntiron to develop & commercialize vaccine to prevent Staphylococcus infections
Those infections are a major health concern no longer confined to the
intensive care unit.
Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group, announced
today that it has entered into an exclusive, world-wide licensing agreement
with Syntiron to develop and commercialize its prophylactic vaccine against
Staphylococcus, including Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus
aureus or MRSA. MRSA are responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections
in humans, sometimes referred to as multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
because these bacteria are resistant to a large group of antibiotics, including
penicillins.
Syntiron is a private biotech company located in St. Paul, Minnesota; its mission
is the prevention and treatment of human disease resulting from bacterial infection.
Under the terms of the agreement, Sanofi Pasteur will support the joint, pre-clinical
development of the product, working cooperatively with Syntiron, and be responsible
for all future developments, regulatory approval, and commercialization of the
vaccine. The agreement includes an undisclosed initial licensing fee, milestone
payments, and royalty payments on future sales of the product.
“This agreement with Syntiron is just another example of Sanofi Pasteur’s
interest in partnering with biotechs to produce innovative vaccines to address
public health needs,” said Wayne Pisano, President and Chief Executive
Office of Sanofi Pasteur. “Along with our development of a vaccine to prevent
Clostridium difficile infection, the successful development of a vaccine to
prevent MRSA would be a major achievement in combating hospital-associated infections.”
About Staphylococcus aureus
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a type of bacterium
that is resistant to certain antibiotics. According to the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s website, these antibiotics include methicillin
and other more common antibiotics such as oxacillin, penicillin and amoxicillin.
Staph infections, including MRSA, occur most frequently among persons in hospitals
and healthcare facilities (such as nursing homes and dialysis centers) who have
weakened immune systems.
MRSA infections that occur in otherwise healthy people who have not been recently
(within the past year) hospitalized or had a medical procedure (such as dialysis,
surgery, catheters) are known as community-associated (CA)-MRSA infections.
These infections are usually skin infections, such as abscesses, boils, and
other pus-filled lesions.
According to the Internet Journal of Infectious Diseases, MRSA has
become one of the most important pathogens that cause post-operative infections,
and, in the U.S., it accounts for up to 40 percent of nosocomial (hospital-associated)
Staphylococcus aureus infections in large hospitals and 25-30 percent
in smaller hospitals. In Europe, MRSA prevalence ranges from over 50 percent
in Portugal and Italy to below 2 percent in Switzerland and the Netherlands.
In Asia, the prevalence lies around 50 percent, with extremely high rates in
Hong Kong (75 percent) and Japan (72 percent). In many African hospitals the
prevalence of MRSA is estimated at 15 percent, with Kenya and Nigeria having
the highest prevalence of 21-30 percent. And according to Johns Hopkins
Medicine, MRSA is now endemic in many hospitals, being one of the leading
causes of nosocomial pneumonia and surgical site infection and the second leading
cause of nosocomial blood stream infections.
About sanofi-aventis
Sanofi-aventis, a leading global pharmaceutical company, discovers, develops
and distributes therapeutic solutions to improve the lives of everyone. Sanofi-aventis
is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: SAN) and in New York (NYSE: SNY). For more information,
visit: www.sanofi-aventis.com.
Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group, provided more
than 1.6 billion doses of vaccine in 2008, making it possible to immunize more
than 500 million people across the globe. A world leader in the vaccine industry,
Sanofi Pasteur offers the broadest range of vaccines protecting against 20 infectious
diseases. The company's heritage, to create vaccines that protect life, dates
back more than a century. Sanofi Pasteur is the largest company entirely dedicated
to vaccines. Every day, the company invests more than EUR 1 million in research
and development. For more information, please visit: www.sanofipasteur.com or
www.sanofipasteur.us.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements
are statements that are not historical facts. These statements include financial
projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding
plans, objectives, intentions and expectations with respect to future events,
operations, products and services, and statements regarding future performance.
Forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words “expects”,
“anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “plans” and similar expressions.
Although sanofi-aventis’ management believes that the expectations reflected
in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that
forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and
uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the
control of sanofi-aventis, that could cause actual results and developments
to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the
forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include
those discussed or identified in the public filings with the SEC and the AMF
made by sanofi-aventis, including those listed under “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary
Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in sanofi-aventis’ annual report
on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2008. Other than as required by
applicable law, sanofi-aventis does not undertake any obligation to update or
revise any forward-looking information or statements.
