Novozymes and Sanofi-Aventis Collaborate for Potential Antibiotic

Novozymes (Bagsvaerd, Denmark) has entered into a global licensing and collaboration agreement with Sanofi-Aventis (Paris, France) for the development and marketing of a new potential antibiotic.

The drug candidate, developed by Novozymes, is an antimicrobial peptide named Plectasin NZ2114, a variant of plectasin, for the treatment of severe infections, such as pneumonia and septicemia, caused by resistant and sensitive gram-positive bacteria like Staphylococcus and Streptococcus.

Under the terms of the agreement, Sanofi-Aventis has been granted an exclusive worldwide license for the development, registration, and commercialization of the drug. The two parties will jointly work to develop and implement commercial-scale manufacturing of the Plectasin NZ2114 drug substance.