Sanofi-Aventis (SNY): Select Joint Ventures, Partnerships, and Alliances

Thursday, 06 September 2007

Bristol-Myers Squibb Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Holding Partnership – This partnership sells and markets Plavix®.  In 2006, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Holding Partnership sold in excess of $3.5 billion of Plavix® in the United States. Also in 2006, the Canadian generic company Apotex challenged the validity of the Plavix Patent (and was able to make use of a loophole to ship a potential $2 billion worth of the medication at greatly reduced prices).  Courts in the United States and Canada ruled against Apotex, and as of now, the '265 patent (plavix patent) is exclusively licensed to the Bristol-Myers Squibb Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Holding Partnership until 2011. (updated August 2007).  Plavix is estimated to have generated $6.1 billion in sales in 2006. (source Pharmaceutical Business Review) http://www.pharmaceutical-business-review.com/article_feature.asp?guid=D79EB193-8DA2-49BB-A66C-90859D7448BD

Sanofi-Aventis and Roche – Sanofi-Aventis is Roche’s exclusive supplier of Shikimic acid, a key raw material for the manufacture of Tamiflu (oseltamivir).  Source: http://news.biocompare.com/newsstory.asp?id=125970

Sanofi-Aventis and Millennium – In June 2000, Millennium entered into a broad agreement in the field of inflammatory disease with Aventis, now Sanofi-Aventis.  This agreement includes the joint discovery, development and commercialization of treatments for specified inflammatory diseases. As provided in the original agreement, Millennium and Sanofi-Aventis have agreed to share the responsibility for and cost of developing, manufacturing and marketing products arising from the alliance in North America.  Outside of North America, Sanofi-Aventis will bear the costs, and is required to pay a royalty on product sales outside of North America. (Source: Millennium's R&D Alliances Webpage) http://www.mlnm.com/rd/inflammation/alliances/index.as

Sanofi-Aventis and Procter&Gamble – Actonel® – In January 2006 Procter & Gamble and Sanofi-Aventis, co-marketers of Actonel® a treatment for male osteoperosis, filed a lawsuit against Roche Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline in the United States Federal District Court in the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit alleges that Roche and GSK engaged in false advertising regarding their competing osteoporosis medication, Boniva®.   According to Pharmaceutical Business News, Actonel sold approximately $2.1 billion in 2005. http://www.pharmaceutical-business-review.com/article_feature.asp?guid=C5DBDE52-3496-4B6A-ACF8-B9859A15C6E9

Select Joint Ventures, Partnerships, and Alliances with Small Pharma


Sanofi-Aventis and GENFIT– Sanofi-Aventis and GENFIT renewed their drug discovery alliance in February 2007.  According to a GENFIT press release, "GENFIT has been collaborating with SANOFI-AVENTIS on several projects, particularly pharmacological characterization and the selection of Sanofi-Aventis’ best drug candidates to act on an innovative target involved in metabolic and inflammatory mechanisms as well as the launch of a new programme based on a new target involved in inflammatory diseases."  Furthermore, the terms of the ongoing deal have entitled GENFIT to annual payments for R&D and milestones, and GENFIT will collect royalties in the event of any of these drugs going to market. http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:IF-erZpnnBwJ:www.france-biotech.org/load.asp%3FID_DOC%3D3073+GENFIT+has+been+collaborating+with+SANOFI-AVENTIS+on+several+projects,+particularly&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

Sanofi-Aventis and Teva – Teva and Sanofi-Aventis have a marketing alliance for injectable Copaxone®, and have joined efforts towards registering and preparing the marketing infrastructures for Copaxone® in most of Europe's major markets. The distribution is undertaken by Sanofi-Aventis. (Source: Sanofi-Aventis 2005 Business Report). http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:12sN_-jvRc0J:en.sanofi-aventis.com/minisites/20060331_annualreport_pop_int/site/load.asp%3Ffile%3D060418_ar2005_en.pdf+Teva+and+Sanofi-Aventis+have+a+marketing+alliance+for+injectable+Copaxone%C2%AE,+and+have+joined+efforts+towards+registering+and+preparin&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us