Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine unit of pharmaceutical company Sanofi Aventis, plans to partner with the Institut Pasteur, a French health sciences laboratory, to develop a malaria vaccine candidate, the drug maker announced on Monday, Thomson Financial/Forbes reports.
Under the partnership agreement, Sanofi Pasteur researchers will have access to Plasmodium falciparum antigens that have been identified by scientists at Institut Pasteur. According to Institut Pasteur President Alice Dautry, the lab has discovered "several promising antigens over the last decade" that could lead to the development of a malaria vaccine "to protect children living in endemic regions" and other groups. Sanofi Pasteur's malaria vaccine project is in the preclinical phase, the company said.Dautry said the partnership "increases the potential" of reaching the "shared goal of a malaria vaccine" and will reinforce the groups' collaboration to "benefit public health".
Source-Kaiser Family Foundation
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