Sanofi Pasteur and Vivalis extend MAb accord

French biopharma company Vivalis (NYSE Euronext: VLS) says it has extended the agreement signed in 2010 with Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of French pharma major Sanofi (Euronext: SAN), for the discovery of a fully human monoclonal antibody (MAb) against an additional undisclosed infectious disease target (The Pharma Letter June 8, 2010).

Sanofi Pasteur and its affiliates have exclusive access to the Vivalis’ platform for the discovery of human MAbs targeting several clinically significant infectious diseases, and will obtain worldwide exclusive development and commercialization rights for the discovered antibodies. The Vivalis’ platform, called VIVA|Screen, is a potent technology for the discovery of fully human monoclonal antibodies using a combination of two technologies acquired by Vivalis:

* The HUMALEX technology, a potent technology for the discovery of fully human MAbs produced by activated and immortalized B lymphocytes isolated from selected human donors. Humalex was developed by Humalys SAS, a Lyon, France-based biotechnology company acquired by Vivalis in January 2010; and