Sanofi-aventis announced today the signature of a global licensing and collaboration agreement with Novozymes for the development and marketing of a potential new antibiotic. The drug candidate is an antimicrobial peptide named plectasin NZ2114 that targets the treatment of severe infections, such as pneumonia and septicaemia, caused by bacteria like Staphylococcus and Streptococcus.
Under the terms of the agreement sanofi-aventis has been granted an exclusive worldwide license for the development, registration and commercialization of the drug. The two companies will jointly work to develop and implement commercial-scale manufacturing of the plectasin NZ2114 drug substance, with the goal of introducing a recombinant process building on Novozymes' proprietary expression technology.
"Plectasin NZ2114 is the first drug candidate that Novozymes has outlicensed for further preclinical and clinical development. Teaming up with one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world is the type of collaborations we were looking for” said Per Falholt, Executive Vice President, Research & Development, Novozymes.
"The innovative mechanism of action of plectasin NZ2114 makes it potentially active against bacteria resistant to currently available treatments. We are looking forward to developing plectasin NZ2114 for the treatment of severe infections such as pneumonia, septicaemia, and complicated skin and soft tissue infections" declared Dr. Marc Cluzel, Senior Vice President, Research & Development, sanofi-aventis.
About Plectasin NZ2114Plectasin NZ2114 is a variant of plectasin, a novel class of antimicrobials, active against resistant and sensitive Gram-positive bacteria like Staphylococcus and Streptococcus. About Novozymes
Novozymes is the world leader in bioinnovation. Together with customers across a broad array of industries we create tomorrow’s industrial biosolutions, improving our customers' business and the use of our planet's resources. Read more at www.novozymes.com. About sanofi-aventis
Sanofi-aventis, a leading global pharmaceutical company, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions to improve the lives of everyone. Sanofi-aventis is listed in Paris (EURONEXT : SAN) and in New York (NYSE : SNY). For further information, please visit www.sanofi-aventis.com.