Sanofi and Weill Cornell to conduct TB research

Sanofi has entered into a new collaborative research partnership with Weill Cornell Medical College in the field of tuberculosis (TB) research.

The agreement will see the two organisations working to discover new anti-infective treatments that could shorten the course of therapy for TB patients, as well as offering efficacy against drug-resistant strains.

To achieve this, Sanofi will provide the medical college with access to 80,000 of its chemical compounds, which will be screened for potential efficacy against the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria.

It is hoped that this will yield promising new compounds that can be developed by Sanofi as marketable therapies for a disease that kills 1.7 million people globally each year.

Dr Elias Zerhouni, president for global research and development at Sanofi, said: "Since discovering rifampicin in the early 1960s, Sanofi has continued to pursue new therapeutic approaches to combat TB, including new vaccines and drug candidates with new mechanisms of action."

Earlier this week, the company announced the selection of Peter Guenter as the new senior vice-president of its European operations.