NANTES, FRANCE, Jun 08 (MARKET WIRE) —
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(R) 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(R)
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(R) 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(R) 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(R) 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-Chene,
Managing Director of Humalys.
Next financial press release:
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(R) 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(R) 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.
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|VIVALIS | |
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|Listed on Euronext Paris | |
|- Compartment C of NYSE | |
|Euronext | |
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|Reuters: VLS.PA – | |
|Bloomberg: VLS FP | |
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|Included in NYSE | |
|Euronext’s SBF 250, CAC | |
|Small 90 and Next Biotech| |
|indexes | |
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Contacts
VIVALIS
Franck Grimaud, CEO
Email: investors@vivalis.com
NewCap
Financial communications agency
Steve Grobet / Emmanuel Huynh
Tel.: +33 (0) 1 44 71 94 91
Email: vivalis@newcap.fr
This document contains forward-looking statements and comments on the
company’s objectives and strategies. No guarantee can be given as to any
of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements, which are
subject to inherent risks, including the risk factors described in the
company’s document de reference, changes in economic conditions, the
financial markets or the markets in which the company operates.
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