Collaboration between Sanofi and Joslin Diabetes Center to focus on new drugs for diabetes

PARIS, June 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sanofi (EURONEXT: SAN andNYSE: SNY) and the Joslin Diabetes Center, a teaching and research affiliate of Harvard Medical School, today announced a new collaboration to promote the development of new medicines for the treatment of diabetes and related disorders.  The collaboration was unveiled at the 2012 Bio International Convention in Boston, Mass.

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Building on Joslin's experience in diabetes research and care, the collaboration will focus on four key areas within diabetes and related metabolic disorders to identify potential new biologics or small drug candidates for the treatment of late complications of diabetes and new insulin analogs with more targeted efficacy. Additionally, research will address the challenges of insulin resistance and personalized medicine, with the overall aim of improving the lives of people living with diabetes.

Dr. Elias Zerhouni, President, Global R&D, Sanofi, commented: "This collaboration brings together two important forces in diabetes therapy – Sanofi Diabetes and Joslin Diabetes Center – which have the potential to define new pathways towards better understanding the nature of this disease and developing new treatments. This collaboration further demonstrates Sanofi's commitment to improving diabetes management and care through the development of innovative research strategies."

Under the terms of the agreement, Sanofi has options to commercialize the results of the research. Both parties will have access to intellectual property for internal research use.

C. Ronald Kahn, M.D., Mary K. Iacocca Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Chief Academic Officer of Joslin Diabetes Center, who will head the alliance team, added: "This opportunity brings together experts from the pharmaceutical industry with our team of scientists and clinicians, who are devoted to research and clinical care for diabetes and related metabolic disorders. The result should be a very exciting collaboration with great potential for innovative research that will participate to advance diabetes treatment and patient care."

Financial details of the collaboration were not disclosed.  

About Joslin Diabetes Center

Joslin Diabetes Center is the world's leading diabetes research and clinical care organization. At Joslin, the world's best researchers and clinicians prevent, treat and strive to cure diabetes and its complications. Among the Harvard Medical School Affiliated institutions, Joslin is one of the most research-intensive academic medical centers and is unique in its sole focus on diabetes. Their discoveries improve the lives of people with diabetes worldwide and offer the greatest hope for a cure. Founded in 1898 by a single physician, Elliott P. Joslin, M.D., Joslin today has more than 600 employees in three major divisions: Joslin Research, a highly collaborative team of more than 300 people with 41 faculty level investigators undertaking the largest research program aimed at preventing and curing type 1 and type 2 diabetes and their long-term complications and more than 120 MD and PhD fellows in training; Joslin Clinic, the world's first and most respected diabetes care facility, which cares for 23,000 adult and pediatric patients a year, focusing on aggressive and comprehensive patient care from highly specialized and multi-skilled experts; and Joslin Strategic Initiatives, which develops and markets innovative programs, products and services that expand the availability of Joslin knowledge and expertise to patients and clinicians around the globe to improve the quality of diabetes care.

About Sanofi Diabetes

Sanofi strives to help people manage the complex challenge of diabetes by delivering innovative, integrated and personalized solutions. Driven by valuable insights that come from listening to and engaging with people living with diabetes, the Company is forming partnerships to offer diagnostics, therapies, services, and devices including innovative blood glucose monitoring systems. Sanofi markets both injectable and oral medications for people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Investigational compounds in the pipeline include an injectable GLP-1 agonist being studied as a single agent, in combination with basal insulin, and/or in combination with oral antidiabetic agents.

About Sanofi

Sanofi, a global and diversified healthcare leader, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions focused on patients' needs. Sanofi has core strengths in the field of healthcare with seven growth platforms: diabetes solutions, human vaccines, innovative drugs, consumer healthcare, emerging markets, animal health and the new Genzyme. Sanofi is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: SAN) and in New York (NYSE: SNY).

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined 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 underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives, intentions and expectations with respect to future financial results, events, operations, services, product development and potential, and statements regarding future performance. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "plans" and similar expressions. Although Sanofi's management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Sanofi, 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 uncertainties inherent in research and development, future clinical data and analysis, including post marketing, decisions by regulatory authorities, such as the FDA or the EMA, regarding whether and when to approve any drug, device or biological application that may be filed for any such product candidates as well as their decisions regarding labelling and other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of such product candidates, the absence of guarantee that the product candidates if approved will be commercially successful, the future approval and commercial success of therapeutic alternatives, the Group's ability to benefit from external growth opportunities, trends in exchange rates and prevailing interest rates, the impact of cost containment policies and subsequent changes thereto, the average number of shares outstanding as well as those discussed or identified in the public filings with the SEC and the AMF made by Sanofi, including those listed under "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in Sanofi's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2011. Other than as required by applicable law, Sanofi does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements.

SOURCE Sanofi

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