Sanofi-Aventis pulls out of diabetes accord with Metabolex; enters deal for malaria drugs; shortens name

French drug major Sanofi-Aventis (Euronext: SAN) has pulled out of a drug development deal with California, USA-based Metabolex (Nasdaq: MBLX) returning rights to a mid-stage type 2 diabetes drug - MBX-2982 - to the US firm.

Sanofi-Aventis said it had terminated its right to MBX-2982, a GPR1 19 receptor antagonist,, acquired last summer in a deal between the two companies, which could have been worth up to $375 million in milestone payments to Metabolex (The Pharma Letter June 28, 2010) ..
Sanofi-Aventis did not provide any reason for the decision in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last week, but Metabolex spokesman Don Hill said the decision was made after Sanofi reviewed a Phase IIa trial that was completed at the end of last year, reported the San Francisco Business Times. The trial did not result in poor data for safety or efficacy of the drug as a potential glucose-lowering agent, Mr Hill said, noting: "We need to assess if we will pursue another trial or partner it out again."

Sanofi took a 32 million euro ($47.5 million) “impairment loss against intangible assets” in the first quarter, mainly related to the agreement with privately held Metabolex.