Genentech, Sanofi Ink Academic Pacts

The University of California, San Francisco, has formed a partnership with Genentech to discover drugs for neurodegenerative diseases. Genentech will provide funding and know-how in support of researchers at UCSF’s Small Molecule Discovery Center. In addition to undisclosed initial funding, UCSF could receive up to $13 million in milestone payments from Genentech. Separately, Sanofi-Aventis has formed a research agreement with the French Life Sciences & Healthcare Alliance and a sponsorship program with France’s National Institute of Health & Medical Research to support young researchers setting up labs in France. Sanofi says it will invest as much as $65 million in the two programs over five years.