LYON, France--22 Feb--PRNewswire-AsiaNet/InfoQuest
Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group(EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY), announced today that it is partnering with theInternational Vaccine Institute (IVI) to support the recently launched DengueVaccine Initiative (DVI). Sanofi Pasteur and the IVI will aim to raiseawareness and to work to move dengue vaccination higher on the global healthagenda.
Currently, there is no specific treatment available for denguefever, which is a threat to nearly half of the world's population and apublic health priority in many countries of Latin America and Asia whereepidemics occur. Of the estimated 220 million people infected annually, twomillion-mostly children-develop dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), a severe formof the disease[1]. DHF is a leading cause of hospitalization, placingtremendous pressure on strained medical resources and having a heavy economicand societal impact.
"Each year, an estimated two million people with denguehemorrhagic fever require hospitalization representing a significant burdenon the fragile healthcare systems of developing and endemic nations," saidDr. Ragnar Norrby, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of IVI. "With a denguevaccine on the short term horizon, this collaboration will focus onaccelerating its adoption and introduction and on making it accessible tothose at highest risk of dengue."
The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) announced the launchof the DVI on February 10, in collaboration with the Sabin Vaccine Institute,the Johns Hopkins University, and the World Health Organization, to supportdevelopment of vaccines to control dengue fever.
"The fight against dengue requires a strong global commitmentfrom all public health partners. The first dengue vaccine is now in the finalstages of development. The IVI will be a key player in facilitatingdiscussions among policy makers, with the objective of ensuring that oncelicensed the vaccine will be made available to those populations that need itmost in a timely manner," stated Olivier Charmeil, Senior Vice President,sanofi-aventis, Vaccines.
About International Vaccine Institute
The International Vaccine Institute is an internationalorganization devoted exclusively to developing and introducing new andimproved vaccines for the world's poorest people, especially children indeveloping countries. The IVI conducts research in 30 countries in Asia,Africa, and Central and South America on vaccines against diarrhealinfections, bacterial meningitis and pneumonia, Japanese encephalitis, anddengue fever, and develops new and improved vaccines, delivery routes andadjuvants at its headquarters in Seoul, Korea.
About Dengue Vaccine Initiative
The Dengue Vaccine Initiative (DVI) was established in 2010 tobuild on the work of the Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative and to furtherawareness of the need to support the development and use of dengue vaccines.The goal of the DVI is to accelerate the introduction of safe and broadlyprotective vaccines into the national immunization programs of endemic anddeveloping countries. DVI works with scientists, vaccine experts and policymakers from concept to implementation, promoting the development of denguevaccines while also advocating with governments worldwide to ensure the swiftadoption and distribution of a vaccine to those most in need.
Sanofi Pasteur's global dengue vaccine clinical study programSanofi Pasteur's candidate dengue vaccine-which targets allfour virus serotypes- is in Phase 3 clinical study. Phase 3 studies are theultimate steps in the clinical development of a vaccine before it issubmitted to regulatory authorities for evaluation for market authorization.
Sanofi Pasteur candidate dengue vaccine has been evaluated in clinicalstudies (Phase 1, 2) in adults and children in the U.S., Asia and LatinAmerica. Overall, a balanced immune response against all four serotypes wasobserved after three doses of the vaccine. The vaccine is well tolerated witha similar safety profile after each dose.[2]
Clinical studies in adults and children are ongoing in Mexico,Colombia, Honduras, Puerto Rico, Peru, the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore,Australia, and Thailand.
About sanofi-aventis
Sanofi-aventis, a leading global pharmaceutical company,discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions to improve thelives of everyone. Sanofi-aventis is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: SAN) and inNew York (NYSE: SNY). For more information, please visit: http://www.sanofi-aventis.com
Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group,provides more than 1 billion doses of vaccine each year, making it possibleto immunize more than 500 million people across the globe. A world leader inthe vaccine industry, Sanofi Pasteur offers the broadest range of vaccinesprotecting against 20 infectious diseases. The company's heritage, to createvaccines that protect life, dates back more than a century. Sanofi Pasteur isthe largest company entirely dedicated to vaccines. Every day, the companyinvests more than EUR 1 million in research and development. For moreinformation, please visit: http://www.sanofipasteur.com or http://www.sanofipasteur.us
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements asdefined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended.Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts.These statements include projections and estimates and their underlyingassumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives, intentions andexpectations with respect to future financial results, events, operations,services, product development and potential and statements regarding futureperformance. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words"expects," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "plans" andsimilar expressions. Although sanofi-aventis' management believes that theexpectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable,investors are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements aresubject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult topredict and generally beyond the control of sanofi-aventis, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in,or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements.
These risks and uncertainties include among other things, the uncertaintiesinherent in research and development, future clinical data and analysis,including post marketing, decisions by regulatory authorities, such as theFDA or the EMA, regarding whether and when to approve any drug, device orbiological application that may be filed for any such product candidates aswell as their decisions regarding labelling and other matters that couldaffect the availability or commercial potential of such products candidates,the absence of guarantee that the products candidates if approved will be commercially successful, the future approval and commercial success oftherapeutic alternatives, the Group's ability to benefit from external growthopportunities as well as those discussed or identified in the public filingswith the SEC and the AMF made by sanofi-aventis, including those listed under"Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-LookingStatements" in sanofi-aventis' annual report on Form 20-F for the year endedDecember 31, 2009. Other than as required by applicable law, sanofi-aventisdoes not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-lookinginformation or statements.
[1] PDVI Newsletter No. 7, April 2010 accessible at http://www.pdvi.org/PDFs/newsletters/PDVInewsletter7.pdf
[2] Saville et al,Clinical development of a tetravalent dengue vaccine for endemic areas, ICID
Miami, March 2010; Lang et al, Toward a tetravalent dengue vaccine in Brazil,Tropical Medicine meeting, Iguacu Falls, March 2010 http://www.sanofipasteur.com
SOURCE: Sanofi Pasteur
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