Sanofi-Aventis to acquire Fovea Pharmaceuticals

PARIS French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis will buy out a company that develops treatments for diseases of the back of the eye.

Fovea Pharmaceuticals announced Thursday that it would sell 100% of its shares to Sanofi-Aventis for $538 million, expecting to close the deal during fourth quarter 2009.

Fovea, founded in 2005, has three drugs undergoing clinical development, including a treatment for persistent allergic conjunctivitis in phase 2 trials, a retinal vein occlusion-induced macular edema treatment in phase 1 trials and a diabetic macular edema drug set to enter phase 1 trials in November.

“Our team is proud and extremely pleased to join Sanofi-Aventis, as it will provide the necessary resources and expertise needed to continue to aggressively build the ophthalmology franchise and demonstrate the efficacy of our products through regulatory clinical development,” Fovea president and CEO Bernard Gilly said in a statement. “It also demonstrates that strong science combined with high-level expertise in pharmaceutical development and management is what the industry leaders are looking for.”