Sanofi To Acquire French Eye Drug Firm

Sanofi-Aventis has agreed to pay up to $540 million for Fovea Pharmaceuticals, a privately held Paris-based biotech company developing drugs to treat eye diseases. The price tag encompasses an undisclosed upfront payment and subsequent milestone payments as Fovea’s drug candidates move toward commercialization. Fovea’s pipeline includes an eye drop in Phase II trials for the treatment of allergic conjunctivitis and two drugs in Phase I studies to treat types of macular edema. Separately, Sanofi has signed an agreement to license Merrimack Pharmaceuticals’ MM-121, a fully human monoclonal antibody, now in Phase I testing, that targets the ErbB3 receptor and is being developed as a cancer treatment. Sanofi will pay Merrimack $60 million upfront and potentially $470 million more in milestone payments.