Sanofi Aventis extends cancer antibody research deal

ImmunoGen, the American anticancer biopharmaceutical firm, has revealed that Sanofi-Aventis has agreed to extend its research partnership through to August 2008.

The two companies have been working since July 2003, when the former Aventis company agreed to collaborate with ImmunoGen in the research of novel anticancer antibody therapeutics.

Sanofi-Aventis’ decision to extend the agreement means it will provide ImmunoGen with research support funding until 2008 to develop compounds or targets discovered over the course of the last three years. Additionally, ImmunoGen is no longer obliged to present new targets to Sanofi-Aventis, meaning that it can develop drugs for new targets on its own from September this year.

Mitchel Sayare, chairman and chief executive officer of Immunogen, remarked: “We’re pleased that our relationship with Sanofi-Aventis will move to its next stage in an orderly and logical fashion and with the opportunity for significant return that this collaboration provides for ImmunoGen going forward.”

“We continue to be entitled to receive milestone payments, manufacturing payments and royalties for each compound in the collaboration and to have certain co-promotion rights,” he added.

Sanofi-Aventis will also have to pay for access to ImmunoGen’s maytansinoid TAP technology for drug targets not part of the original collaboration, following the deal’s expiry date in August 2006.

One compound developed during the course of the companies’ research partnership is AVE9633, a treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia.

ImmunoGen has research agreements with a number of companies, including Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim and Genentech.

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