Sanofi and Joslin Diabetes Center form research alliance

Sanofi has formed a new research alliance with the Joslin Diabetes Center, a teaching and research affiliate of Harvard Medical School.

The agreement will see the institutions collaborating to promote the development of new medicines for the treatment of diabetes and related disorders, with a focus on four key areas within this field.

Scientists will work to identify potential new biologics or drug candidates to treat late complications of diabetes and new insulin analogues with more targeted efficacy, while also investigating insulin resistance and personalised medicine.

Both parties will have access to any resulting intellectual property for internal research use, while Sanofi has options to commercialise the compounds if it chooses.

Dr Elias Zerhouni, president for global research and development at Sanofi, said: "This collaboration further demonstrates Sanofi's commitment to improving diabetes management and care through the development of innovative research strategies."

This comes after the company reported positive data from phase III trials of its new type 2 diabetes therapy Lyxumia earlier this month.