Sanofi Pasteur and Vivalis collaboration

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis (S-A), has announced its partnership with biopharmaceutical company, Vivalis, for the discovery and development of antibody treatments.

The collaboration will see Sanofi Pasteur acquire exclusive access to Vivalis' Humalex platform – a range of technologies for the discovery of fully human monoclonal antibodies targeting clinically significant infectious diseases.

Monoclonal antibodies are used in therapies to bind to specific target cells to stimulate the patient's immune system to attack the cells.

Sanofi Pasteur will also gain worldwide exclusive development and commercialisation rights for the discovered antibodies.

In return, Vivalis will receive an upfront payment of €3m, with potential milestone payments of up to €35m for each infectious disease therapy over the course of the development stage. The company will also receive royalty payments from future product sales.

"We are pleased to team up with Vivalis to discover and develop new biologicals against infectious diseases for patients worldwide," said Michel de Wilde, senior vice president, Research and Development, Sanofi Pasteur.

"Vivalis' Humalex technology allows rapid identification of clinically relevant fully human antibodies, as well as their related antigen. This opens up new medical solutions to prevent or treat serious infections."

Franck Grimaud, CEO of Vivalis, said: "This is the first major commercial agreement on the Humalex platform but it also represents a strong validation of the technology. Vivalis is today one of a very few companies able to propose a fully integrated offering from the discovery of fully human monoclonal antibodies to the production of clinical batches."