Sanofi Pasteur Receives Seed Virus To Produce New Influenza A(H1N1) Vaccine

Main Category: Swine Flu
Also Included In: Immune System / Vaccines;  Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry
Article Date: 28 May 2009 - 2:00 PDT

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Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY), announced today it has received the new influenza A(H1N1) seed virus, enabling the world's leading manufacturer of influenza vaccines to begin the production process for an A(H1N1) vaccine.

The emergence of a new influenza A(H1N1) virus strain recently led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a Level 5 pandemic alert, following human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region.

"As a company committed to protecting human health, Sanofi Pasteur looks forward to quickly understanding how this virus performs in a vaccine manufacturing environment and developing a working seed that will enable large-scale production," said Wayne Pisano, President and CEO of Sanofi Pasteur. "This is an important step for engaging Sanofi Pasteur's resources and expertise to support public health authorities and the directives they provide us."

Receipt of the seed virus means that Sanofi Pasteur will begin the development process, called "passaging," that will yield a "working seed." Passaging is the process for acclimating virus to grow in a production environment at optimum yield. The passaging process is expected to take approximately two weeks. Following quality controls, Sanofi Pasteur will be prepared to begin industrial production as soon as directed by public health agencies.

Sanofi Pasteur operates influenza vaccine production facilities in Swiftwater, Pa. and Val de Reuil, France.

About Sanofi Aventis

Sanofi-aventis, a leading global pharmaceutical company, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions to improve the lives of everyone. Sanofi-aventis is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: SAN) and in New York (NYSE: SNY).

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group, provided more than 1.6 billion doses of vaccine in 2008, making it possible to immunize more than 500 million people across the globe. A world leader in the vaccine industry, Sanofi Pasteur offers the broadest range of vaccines protecting against 20 infectious diseases. The company's heritage, to create vaccines that protect life, dates back more than a century. Sanofi Pasteur is the largest company entirely dedicated to vaccines. Every day, the company invests more than EUR 1 million in research and development.

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 financial projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives, intentions and expectations with respect to future events, operations, products and services, 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-aventis' 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-aventis, 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 those discussed or identified in the public filings with the SEC and the AMF made by sanofi-aventis, including those listed under "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in sanofi-aventis' annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2008. Other than as required by applicable law, sanofi-aventis does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements.

Source: Sanofi Pasteur