How many partners does Sanofi-aventis have?
Like many pharmaceutical companies Sanofi-aventis does not reveal its exact number of alliances, but in 2008 the company’s Anuual Report indicated the company was stepping up the number of alliances it would like to enter. Some idea of how busy the company is in the alliance space is the fact that the company announced the signing of seven key alliances in the seven months between May and November 2009.
In its Annual Report for 2008 the company listed that its income from alliance agreements was €472 million in 2008, €323 million in 2007 and €382 million in 2006.
According to the company’s partnering brochure more than 25% of the products in Sanofi-aventis’s pipeline were developed through partnerships and more than 30% of its net sales in 2008 came from products developed through partnerships or alliances. Presently 27% of the molecules now in development at Sanofi-aventis originate from external collaborations.
Three of the company’s leading products were developed and are marketed through partnerships with other companies: Bristol-Myers Squibb, Procter & Gamble and Teva Pharmaceuticals.
Sanofi-aventis’ current assets in terms of receivables (source: SEC Form 20-F, 2008)
| 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | |
| Total receivables | 1,881 | 2,126 | 2,208 |
| From alliances and other* | 781 | 754 | 947 |
| % from alliances | 42% | 35% | 49% |
* This line mainly comprises amounts due from alliance partners, advance payments to suppliers, sales commission receivable, and amounts due from employees.
How does Sanofi-aventis form alliances?
Sanofi-aventis has a team dedicated to sourcing and managing alliances. These teams are based in the following departments: R&D External Innovation and Corporate Business Development.
In November 2009 Christopher Viehbacher, the Chief Executive of Sanofi-Aventis, indicated that the company was looking to up aventure capital fund to help develop strategic partnerships with drug-developers.
Who are Sanofi-aventis’s partners?
Ajinomoto, Becton Dickinson, BioWa, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Coley, Crucell, DNDi, Dyax, Exelixis, Genfit, Human Genome Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Novozymes, IDM, Immunogen, Innogenetics, Inserm, Institutes of Biological Sciences (Shanghai), Institute of Hematology and blood diseases Hospital in Tianjin (China ), Intercell, Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Malaria Venture, Maxigen, Merrimack, Micromet, Oxford BioMedica, Procter & Gamble, RainDance Technologies, Regeneron, Salk Institute, SSI, Taiho Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, Teva Pharmaceutical, UCB, University Louis Pasteur, University of Pennsylvania, Vactech, Wayne State University, Wellstat Therapeutics and Zealand Pharma,
Some key collaborations has Sanofi-aventis entered into over the past few years?
- In October 2009 Sanofi-aventis and Micromet signed a global collaboration and license agreement to develop a BiTE® antibody against an antigen present at the surface of carcinoma cells. BiTE antibodies are novel therapeutic antibodies that activate patients’ T cells to seek out and destroy cancer cells. Under the agreement Micromet is responsible for the discovery, research and development of the BiTE antibody through the completion of phase 1 clinical trials under the supervision of a Joint Steering Committee. Sanofi-aventis will then have the full responsibility for the further development, as well as for the worldwide commercialization of the BiTE antibody. Micromet received an upfront cash payment of 8 million euros and is eligible for development and regulatory milestone payments of up to 162 million euros, royalties on worldwide product sales and will receive additional performance-based sales milestones of up to 150 million euros.
- In October 2009 Sanofi-aventis and Wellstat Therapeutics entered a global licensing agreement on PN2034, a novel oral first-in-class, insulin sensitizer, for the treatment of Type II Diabetes, currently in Phase II clinical testing. Under this agreement, Sanofi-aventis received an exclusive worldwide license to develop, manufacture and commercialise PN2034 and related compounds. Wellstat Therapeutics received an upfront cash payment for the development, manufacturing and commercialisation rights, and is eligible for $350 million in development and regulatory milestone payments. Wellstat Therapeutics is also to receive royalties on the worldwide product sales and performance based sales milestones.
- In October 2009 Sanofi-aventis and Merrimack Pharmaceuticals entered an agreement whereby Sanofi-aventis woul receive an exclusive worldwide license to develop, manufacture and commercialise MM-121, a first-in-class, fully human monoclonal antibody in phase 1 clinical testing designed to block signaling of the ErbB3 (also known as HER3) receptor, for the management of solid malignancies. Under the agreement, Merrimack retained potential co-promotion rights in the US. Merrimack received an upfront cash payment of US$60 million for the research, development, manufacturing and commercialisation rights and is eligible for development and regulatory milestone payments up to US$410 million on MM-121, royalties on the worldwide product sales and could receive additional performance milestones of up to US$60 million on worldwide sales. Merrimack is participating in the development of MM-121.
- In May 2009 Sanofi-aventis and Exelixis entered a global license agreement for XL147 and XL765 and an exclusive collaboration for the discovery of inhibitors of phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K) for the management of solid malignancies. The agreement granted Sanofi-aventis an exclusive worldwide license to both compounds which are currently in phase 1 clinical trials. Sanofi-aventis has sole responsibility for all subsequent clinical, regulatory, manufacturing and commercial activities while Exelixis is to participate in ongoing and future clinical trials. The two companies are combining their research efforts to establish several preclinical programmes related to isoform-selective inhibitors of PI3K with Sanofi-aventis taking sole responsibility for all subsequent clinical, regulatory, commercial and manufacturing activities of the products that result from the collaboration and Exelixis taking responsibility for conducting certain clinical trials. Exelixis received an upfront cash payment and is eligible for development and regulatory milestone payments that could reach over $1 billion in aggregate for existing and future programmes. In addition, Exelixis is entitled to receive royalties and commercial milestones on sales when products are commercialised.
- In May 2009 Sanofi-aventis and the non-profit Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)signed an agreement for the development, manufacturing and distribution of fexinidazole, a promising new drug for the treatment of human African trypanosomiasis, also known as sleeping sickness, a fatal disease that threatens 60 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa.
- In May 2009 Sanofi-aventis and Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co Ltd signed a collaboration and licensing agreement whereby Sanofi-aventis received worldwide rights to Kyowa Hakko Kirin’s anti-LIGHT fully human monoclonal antibody. Presently in the preclinical stage the antibody is expected to be a first in class therapy for ulcerative colitis and in Crohn’s disease. Under the agreement the antibody might also be pursued for other indications such as rheumatoid arthritis. Sanofi-aventis has exclusive rights to develop the product worldwide, except in Japan and Asian countries where both parties will co-develop the product. Kyowa Hakko Kirin retained the rights to market the product in Japan and in Asia, while sanofi-aventis gained exclusive rights to market and sell the product in the rest of the world. Each party has an option to co-promote the product in the territory of the other party. Kyowa Hakko Kirin received an upfront payment and is eligible for a totla of US$315 million in development milestone payments as well as royalties on sales when the product is commercialised.
- In December 2008 Sanofi-aventis signed a global licensing and collaboration agreement with Novozymes for the development and commercialisation of a new antibiotic named plectasin NZ2114 that targets the treatment of severe infections such as pneumonia and septicemia. Sanofi-aventis gained an exclusive worldwide license for the development, registration, and commercialisation of the drug. Both companies are working jointly to develop and implement industrial-scale manufacturing of the drug using a recombinant process that builds on Novozyme’s proprietary expression technology. Milestone payments under the agreement could reach up to US$64 million.
- In February 2008, Sanofi-aventis obtained an exclusive worldwide license for the development and commercialisation of Dyax Corporation’s fully human monoclonal antibody DX-2240, as well as a worldwide non-exclusive license to Dyax’s proprietary Phage Display technology. In return Dyax is eligible to receive up to US$270 million in license fees and milestone payments if the antibody is successfully commercialised for three indications and in one indication for the first antibody candidates developed by Sanofi-aventis alone using the Phage Display technology.
- In December 2007 Ssanofi Pasteur signed an exclusive collaboration and commercialisation agreement with Crucell NV for Crucell’s rabies monoclonal antibodies. Under the terms of the agreement, Crucell
was to continue to develop and manufacture the product. The contract includes milestone payments that could reach US$53 million. - In March 2007 Sanofi-aventis and Oxford BioMedica entered into an exclusive global license agreement to develop and commercialize TroVax® for the treatment and prevention of cancers. Under the agreement Oxford BioMedica could receive up €450 million in milestone payments and is also entitled to escalating royalties on global sales of TroVax®, and to sales milestone payments if and when net sales of TroVax® reach certain levels.
- In November 2007 Sanofi-aventis signed an agreement with Regeneron to discover, develop and commercialise fully-human therapeutic antibodies. Sanofi-aventis is to provide up to $416 million for research funding over the next five years. Sanofi-aventis has an option to extend the research agreement for an additional three years. Under the terms of the development agreement, Sanofi-aventis is to fund 100% of the development costs. Once a product begins to be marketed, Regeneron will repay out of its profits (provided they are sufficient) half of the development costs borne by Sanofi-aventis. In addition, Regeneron is entitled to receive up to a total of US$250 million of sales milestone payments when the collaboration achieves certain aggregate annual excluding US sales levels. The two companies extended the alliance in November 2009 taking the collaboration up to 2018 and increasing Sanofi-Aventis’s funding of the project to US$160 million a year.
- In September 2003, Sanofi-aventis signed a collaboration agreement with Regeneron in oncology to develop the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) Trap program. Under the agreement Regeneron is entitled to development milestone payments and royalties on VEGF Trap sales that could reach US$400 million if all indications specified in the contract obtain approval in the United States, Europe and Japan. Sanofi-aventis is to pay 100% of the development costs of the VEGF Trap. Once a VEGF Trap product starts to be marketed, Regeneron will repay 50% of the development costs (originally paid by Sanofi-aventis) in accordance with a formula based on Regeneron’s share of the profits, including royalties received in Japan. In 2005, the VEGF Trap program was extended to Japan, and the treatment of ocular pathologies was excluded from the scope of the collaboration agreement.
