Sanofi Pasteur and Acambis collaborate on West Nile vaccine

Sanofi Pasteur, a division of the Sanofi-Aventis, has signed a global agreement with Acambis for the development and marketing of a West Nile vaccine to fight against what can be a potentially fatal disease.

There is currently no human vaccine for the prevention or treatment of West Nile disease, which emerged in the 1990s in the US.

Wayne Pisano, president and chief executive officer of Sanofi Pasteur, indicated the possibilities of providing a vaccine under the agreement.

“A vaccine against West Nile disease may now be within reach. This candidate vaccine is the most promising in the industry and would help meet a growing public health need.”

The chief executive officer of Acambis Ian Garland highlighted the growing number of cases of the disease with 27,240 diagnoses and 1,054 deaths since 1999.

He confirmed that vaccination was the “ideal approach” to tackling the disease, insisting that the collaboration would bring a vaccine to the market as quickly as possible.

The terms of the agreement state that Acambis will continue to perform development activities, up to and including the filing of a license application in the U.S.

-Acambis will also receive an upfront payment of $10 million (4.8 million pounds) and would be eligible for pre and post-marketing milestone payments of up to $70 million.

Earlier this month, Sanofi Pasteur announced that it is initiating a Phase II trail investigating its cell culture-based seasonal influenza vaccine.