Vivalis, sanofi-aventis deal

Vivalis added a second program against a new undisclosed target to its 2010 deal with Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis, under which the division gained exclusive access to Vivalis' Humalex technology to discover human mAbs to treat and prevent nosocomial infections and other infectious diseases that are not preventable with vaccines. Sanofi Pasteur will fund research of the mAbs and have exclusive, worldwide rights to develop and commercialize resulting drug candidates. Vivalis received €3 million ($4 million) up front in the June deal and continues to be eligible for up to €35 million ($46.5 million) in milestones for each indication, plus royalties (see BioCentury, June 14, 2010). ...