Sanofi and PATH launch large-scale production of semi-synthetic artemisinin in Italy

French drug major Sanofi (Euronext: SAN) and non-profit global health organization PATH’s Drug Development program, established through an affiliation with OneWorld Health, yesterday (April 11) announced the launch of the large-scale production line of semi-synthetic artemisinin at Sanofi’s Garessio site in Italy.

Sanofi plans to produce 35 tons of artemisinin in 2013 and, on average, 50 to 60 tons per year by 2014 corresponding to around 80 to 150 million artemisinin-based combination therapies against malaria. The production of semi-synthetic artemisinin will be based on a no-profit, no-loss production model, in order to maintain a low price for the developing countries, the company states. There was no indication of the project's costs.

The development of a new commercial-scale alternative manufacturing process to produce a complementary source of artemisinin started nine years ago, led by OneWorld Health, and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The project built upon pioneering synthetic biology work by Jay Keasling at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), and involved a team of public and private partners, including Sanofi and the synthetic biology innovator, Amyris, to take the project from laboratory research to commercialization.