Sanofi-Aventis and Novozymes sign licensing and collaboration agreement

The drug candidate is an antimicrobial peptide named plectasin NZ2114 that targets the treatment of severe infections, such as pneumonia and septicaemia, caused by bacteria like Staphylococcus and Streptococcus.

Under the terms of the agreement Sanofi-Aventis has been granted an exclusive worldwide license for the development, registration and commercialization of the drug. The two companies will jointly work to develop and implement commercial-scale manufacturing of the plectasin NZ2114 drug substance, with the goal of introducing a recombinant process building on Novozymes’s expression technology.

Marc Cluzel, senior vice president of R&D at Sanofi-Aventis, said: “The innovative mechanism of action of plectasin NZ2114 makes it potentially active against bacteria resistant to currently available treatments. We are looking forward to developing plectasin NZ2114 for the treatment of severe infections such as pneumonia, septicaemia, and complicated skin and soft tissue infections.”