Sanofi-Aventis joins Massachusetts LSC's $1 billion program to support innovation in R&D

French drug major Sanofi-Aventis has joined the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC), a quasi-public agency tasked with implementing the US state's 10-year, $1 billion Life Sciences Initiative Center's Corporate Consortium Program. The partnership was announced at the BIO International Convention, taking place this week in Chicago, USA.

Through its flagship Accelerator Program, the MLSC identifies and makes loans available to early-stage life sciences companies engaged in promising translational science and research. The Center also offers a Small Business Matching Grant (SBMG) program that matches federal SBIR and STTR grants. Members of the Corporate Consortium program contribute matching funds for the Center's investment activities, providing additional sources of capital and maximizing support for the Center's portfolio companies.

Under the newly-announced partnership, Sanofi-Aventis will contribute funds to help support Massachusetts' commitment to grow and retain early-stage life sciences companies. This contribution will be pooled with existing MLSC resources to support the Accelerator Loan Program, which is designed to provide working capital to help sustain early-stage companies through critical stages of development. In addition to supporting life sciences within Massachusetts, the partnership will provide the drugmaker with access to innovative ideas and technologies that may lead to the development of new health care solutions, it said.