Cerep In $33 Million Alliance With Sanofi

French biotechnology company Cerep has signed its first strategicalliance, with Sanofi, to apply its integrated technology platform to discover and optimize leads on a range of targets chosen by the French pharmaceutical group. Cerep has also announced that it is to seek a listing on the Nouveau Marche of the Paris Bourse, through a public offering.

The price range for the 400,000 shares, which will be issued on December 9, is expected to fall between 260 and 300 francs, with an additional 100,000 shares being set aside for Sanofi.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sanofi is to make an equity investment, at the initial public offer price, of some 30 million French francs ($5.1 million), in addition to providing R&D funding and milestone payments of approximately $28 million over a four-year period, excluding royalties. Cerep currently provides a pharmacological profiling service to over 100 drugmakers, including Glaxo Wellcome, Pfizer and Abbott Laboratories.