Under the terms of the agreement, Sanofi-Aventis will share information with Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) on its malaria drugs portfolio.
The portfolio includes a licensed fixed-dose combination of artesunate and amodiaquine, co-developed with the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative and several compounds resulting from research collaborations with French academic institutions and start-ups. These compounds which are at various stages of development include: ferroquine with the Universite des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, a trioxaquine compound with Palumed and a bis-thiazolium compound with the Centre National pour la Recherche Scientifique.
In addition, a research program for new antimalarials has been initiated within Sanofi-Aventis that will screen a very large number of candidate compounds.
MMV and Sanofi-Aventis will set up working groups to review each of these projects and define specific collaborative actions between the two organizations for their further development.
Marc Cluzel, senior vice president of R&D at Sanofi-Aventis, said: “Joining forces with MMV in the search for innovative antimalarial drugs will help us stay ahead in the race against parasites that will sooner or later develop resistances to existing treatments. This new partnership will enable us to mobilize each organization’s expertise, resources and know-how and create synergies that will speed up the availability of novel medicines for malaria patients.”