PARIS, FRANCE (July 12, 2004) – Sanofi-Synthelabo announced that it has signed an agreement with Pfizer Inc. regarding the divestment of Aventis’ interests in Campto (irinotecan) in response to requests made by the competition authorities.
Subject to the success of Sanofi-Synthelabo’s offer for Aventis, Pfizer will take over clinical studies for Campto that are currently conducted by Aventis, together with certain patents and other assets pertaining to territories where Pfizer currently markets irinotecan. The consideration for the whole transaction is of $620 million.
Campto is indicated for treatment of advanced colorectal cancer in combination with 5-fluorouracil and folinic acid in first-line treatment as well as monotherapy in second-line treatment. Several Phase III studies are underway or have recently been completed to evaluate the use of Campto in adjuvant chemotherapy in colorectal cancer, advanced gastric cancer, small cell lung cancer, and non-small-cell lung cancer.
Aventis markets Campto, which was first launched in 1995 under a license from Yakult Honsha Company Limited, primarily in Europe, Asia and Africa.
