CureDM, Inc. Partners Novel Diabetes Treatment with Sanofi-Aventis (France); CureDM Will Receive Upfront Cash Payment Totalling $335 Million
“We are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to partner with one of the most innovative global pharmaceutical companies,” said H. Joseph Reiser, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of CureDM. “We believe that Sanofi-Aventis is the ideal partner to bring our novel therapeutic approach to patients, given Sanofi’s leading and far reaching strategic commitment in the field of diabetes.”
Under this agreement, Sanofi-Aventis acquires the exclusive worldwide rights to manufacture, develop and market CureDM’s Pancreate™ (proisletide acetate), for the treatment of diabetes in human and veterinary applications. In preclinical studies, Pancreate™ has been shown to stimulate the growth of new insulin producing islets in the pancreas, resulting in restoration of normal metabolic function and glucose control. CureDM has reached late stage preclinical development and anticipates the initiation of phase I clinical trials later this year.
Jaime A. Davidson, M.D., FACP, MACE, Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine, University of Texas and former FDA Advisory Committee Member for Diabetes and Metabolism, considers Pancreate™ “a truly innovative new treatment option with a mechanism of action totally different from any of the presently available medications. It has the possibility of preventing the progressive glucose deterioration in the natural history of type 2 diabetes.”
Under the terms of the agreement, CureDM will receive an upfront cash payment and success- based development, regulatory and sales performance milestone payments totalling 335 Million USD. In addition, CureDM is eligible to receive increasing royalties on worldwide product sales.
About Pancreate™
Pancreate™ is a bioactive peptide sequence of a naturally occurring human protein that stimulates the formation of functional insulin producing islets from pancreatic progenitor cells. In both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, a fundamental problem is too few insulin-producing islets to keep up with insulin demand. In addition, islets provide the necessary metabolic control of insulin release that makes the pancreas so uniquely able to keep a consistent glucose level in the blood. Restoring whole islets is paramount to correcting the erratic blood glucose fluctuations associated with diabetes, making Pancreate™ a fundamentally new approach to the treatment of diabetes.
About CureDM
CureDM is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of new therapies that prevent, ameliorate, or reverse diseases of metabolism. CureDM was co-founded by a molecular biologist and two clinical endocrinologists who experienced the unmet medical need in diabetes patients on a daily basis, which provided motivation for the discovery of Pancreate™. For more information about CureDM, visit www.curedm.com.
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 - News). For more information, visit: www.sanofi-aventis.us or www.sanofi-aventis.com.
Contact:
CureDM H. Joseph Reiser, 302-288-0620 hjreiser@CureDM.com