VIVALIS PARTNERS WITH SANOFI PASTEUR FOR THE DISCOVERY OF HUMAN MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES AGAINST INFECTIOUS DISEASES
NANTES, FRANCE--(Marketwire - June 8, 2010) - VIVALIS (NYSE Euronext: VLS) announced today the signature with Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group (Euronext: SAN and NYSE: SNY), of a commercial license and collaboration agreement for the discovery and development of fully human monoclonal antibodies against several infectious diseases targets.
Under the terms of the agreement, Sanofi Pasteur and its affiliates acquire exclusive access to the Humalex® platform for the discovery of human monoclonal antibodies targeting several clinically significant infectious diseases, and will obtain worldwide exclusive development and commercialization rights for the discovered antibodies. The HUMALEX® platform is a potent technology for the discovery of fully human monoclonal antibodies produced by activated and immortalized B lymphocytes isolated from selected human donors. Humalex® was developed by Humalys SAS, a Lyon-based biotechnology company acquired by Vivalis in January 2010, and is used for the discovery and development of human monoclonal antibodies for both therapeutic and diagnostic applications.
VIVALIS will receive an upfront payment of 3 million Euros, and development milestone payments up to 35 million Euros per infectious disease, as well as royalty payments associated with product sales. In addition, Sanofi Pasteur will finance collaborative research activities.
"Passive immunization can be a powerful treatment option against infectious diseases in sometimes life threatening situations. VIVALIS' Humalex® technology allows rapid identification of clinically relevant fully human antibodies, as well as their cognate antigen. This opens up new medical solutions to prevent or treat serious infections," said Michel de Wilde, senior vice-president research and development at Sanofi Pasteur. "We are pleased to team up with VIVALIS to discover and develop new biologicals against infectious diseases for patients worldwide."
"We are very excited about this collaboration with Sanofi Pasteur only a few months after the acquisition of Humalys. This is the first major commercial agreement on the Humalex® platform. It also represents a strong validation of the technology developed by Humalys. In addition, this agreement also validates the relevancy of our strategy to move up in the value chain. 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. We are particularly proud to enter this new domain with a leader that has already heavily invested in the field", said Franck Grimaud, CEO, and Majid Mehtali, CSO, co-managers of VIVALIS and Philippe Guillot-Chêne, Managing Director of Humalys.
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21 July 2010, after NYSE Euronext market closing: Second quarter 2010 revenues
About VIVALIS (www.vivalis.com)
VIVALIS (NYSE- Euronext: VLS) is a biopharmaceutical company that provides innovative cell-based solutions to the pharmaceutical industry for the manufacture of vaccines and proteins, and develops drugs for the prevention and treatment of viral diseases. VIVALIS' expertise and intellectual property are exploited in three main areas:
1. VIVALIS offers research and commercial licenses for its EB66® cell line, derived from duck stem cells, to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for the production of vaccines and monoclonal antibodies. VIVALIS receives upfront fees, milestone payments and royalties on its licensees' net sales.
2. Through the Humalex® platform, VIVALIS proposes customers solutions for the discovery, development and production of human antibodies. VIVALIS receives upfront fees, milestone payments and royalties on its licensees' net sales.
3. The construction of a portfolio of proprietary products in the area of vaccines and anti-viral molecules (hepatitis C).
Based in Nantes (France), VIVALIS was founded in 1999 by the Grimaud group (1,500 employees), the second largest group worldwide in animal genetic selection. VIVALIS has established more than 30 partnerships and licenses with world leaders in this sector, including Sanofi Pasteur, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, CSL, Kaketsuken, Merial, Intervet, SAFC Biosciences. VIVALIS is a member of the French ATLANPOLE BIOTHERAPIES and LYONBIOPOLE bioclusters.