S-A agrees malaria research project

Sanofi-aventis (S-A) and Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) have signed an agreement to research malaria treatments.

The three-year research project agreement, called Orthology Malaria, aims to develop drug candidates from a set of S-A's compounds that have been selected for their potential activity against malaria parasites.

Each stage of the project will be evaluated by the S-A/MMV joint steering committee and assessed according to MMV's criteria for compound progression.

Dr Elias Zerhouni, president of global research and development at S-A, said: "Sanofi-aventis has a long standing history in the pursuit of novel anti-malarial compounds, which are essential to save the lives of more than 750,000 people annually.

"This new partnership will enable us to mobilise each organisation's expertise, resources and know-how to identify novel medicines for malaria patients."

As discussed in PME's interview with Gilles Lhernould, senior vice president corporate social responsibility at S-A, the company has previously worked with MMV to conduct a pharmocovigilance study in sub-Saharan Africa concerning the safety and efficacy of anti-malarial drug artesunate-amodaquine.

MMV also signed a deal with AstraZeneca in June, 2010, to identify novel candidate drugs for the treatment of malaria, and worked with the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases to develop malaria drug spiroindolone NITD609.