Sanofi Pasteur Mounts Emergency Response to Yellow Fever Epidemic in Latin America
Lyon, France (ots/PRNewswire)
- Six Million Doses of Stamaril(TM) Vaccine Shipped in Record Time to Brazil and Paraguay
Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the Sanofi-aventis Group, announced today that six million doses of Stamaril(TM)(1) yellow fever vaccine have been shipped upon UNICEF's request to respond to the yellow fever epidemic in Latin America.
Brazil received four million doses of Stamaril(TM) vaccine early February and an additional two million doses were shipped to Paraguay over the weekend in response to urgent requests from Health Authorities.
"Sanofi Pasteur mobilized its teams to make this public health emergency a priority," said Wayne Pisano, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sanofi Pasteur. "This ability to respond to an emergency in record time illustrates the company's commitment to global health."
The yellow fever vaccine that was provided to Brazil and Paraguay is part of the UNICEF vaccine stockpile which is reserved for outbreak responses. Sanofi Pasteur is currently the only vaccine supplier to the UNICEF yellow fever vaccine stockpile.
Sanofi Pasteur is the largest provider of yellow fever vaccine worldwide with 200 million doses of vaccine provided to 150 countries over the past 20 years.
About yellow fever
Yellow fever is a viral disease that occurs in both rural and urban areas in Africa and South America. There is no treatment for yellow fever, only prevention by immunization. More than 200,000 people contract the disease and 30,000 people die from it each year. According to the WHO, over 30 countries in Africa (with an estimated population of 508 million) are at risk. In the Americas, yellow fever is endemic in nine South American countries and in several Caribbean islands.
About Sanofi-aventis
Sanofi-aventis, a leading global pharmaceutical company, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions to improve the lives of everyone. Sanofi-aventis is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: SAN) and in New York (NYSE: SNY).
Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group, provided more than 1.6 billion doses of vaccine in 2007, making it possible to immunize more than 500 million people across the globe. A world leader in the vaccine industry, sanofi pasteur offers the broadest range of vaccines protecting against 20 infectious diseases. The company's heritage, to create vaccines that protect life, dates back more than a century. Sanofi Pasteur is the largest company entirely dedicated to vaccines. Every day, the company invests more than EUR1 million in research and development. For more information, please visit: http://www.sanofipasteur.com or http://www.sanofipasteur.us
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements include financial projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives, intentions and expectations with respect to future events, operations, products and services, and statements regarding future performance. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "plans" and similar expressions. Although sanofi-aventis' management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of sanofi-aventis, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include those discussed or identified in the public filings with the SEC and the AMF made by sanofi-aventis, including those listed under "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in Sanofi-aventis' annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2006. Other than as required by applicable law, sanofi-aventis does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements.
(1) Stamaril is a trademark of Institut Pasteur
Contact:
Sanofi Pasteur, Pascal Barollier, Media Relations, Tel:
+33-4-37-37-51-41, pascal.barollier@sanofipasteur.com; Sanofi
Pasteur, Len Lavenda, Media Relations US, Tel: +1-570-839-4446,
len.lavenda@sanofipasteur.com; Media Relations: Tel.:
+33-4-37-37-50-38, Media Relations US: Tel.: +1-570-839-44