ThalesNano Inc. and sanofi-aventis R&D collaborate on continuous process chemistry in order to dramatically reduce drug realization time

Budapest, Hungary, London, UK, Princeton NJ, USA, May 22, 2008. ThalesNano Inc. and sanofi-aventis R&D today announced the signing of a research and development collaboration agreement focusing on continuous process chemistry technologies.

The collaboration will focus on the development and implementation of continuous process technologies from research to full scale production. The purpose of the project is to study the utilization and application of ThalesNano’s integrated continuous process chemistry technologies within the sanofi-aventis drug R&D process from discovery to API production.
“We are delighted to work with sanofi-aventis R&D who have always been at the forefront of applying new methods and technologies to improve the drug discovery and development process”, said Dr. Laszlo Urge, CEO of ThalesNano Inc. “The ThalesNano continuous process technology is already well established in the discovery labs of the life sciences industry. Taking it to process scale promises tremendous benefits for our customers in terms of reducing development time, increasing cost efficiency and minimizing environmental impact”.
Dr. Christophe Daubié, head of Chemical Development for Paris area at sanofi-aventis R&D said : “this collaboration is important also because it enters into the scope of sanofi-aventis R&D strategy in terms of our constant involvement in safety considerations, quality improvement of our processes with respect to Environmental and Industrial Hygiene aspects, including Green Chemistry”.

Dr. Ferenc Darvas, President and chairman of ThalesNano Inc. said. “The benefits of continuous process chemistry over conventional batch chemistry includes the rapid synthesis of organic compounds, in particular under until now unrealizable hazardous reaction conditions. Further benefits include Green Chemistry by minimizing waste, energy consumption and raw material use, lab automation, and rapid scale-up from mg to kg quantities, which reduces CAPEX and OPEX while speeding time to market.”
For more information please go to: www.thalesnano.com

About ThalesNano Inc.:
ThalesNano is a world-leading provider of continuous process chemistry instruments in the rapidly developing market of laboratory and process scale flow reactors. The company has the widest portfolio of bench-top continuous process instruments. Its R&D 100 award winning H-Cube® continuous-flow hydrogenation reactor and the pilot plant scale version H-Cube Midi™ are used in hundreds of laboratories in four continents and have become the new industry standard for hydrogenation.
Contact: Laszlo Urge, Ph.D., CEO, e-mail: ceodirect@thalesnano.com, Telephone: +36-1-880-8500

About Sanofi-Aventis:
Sanofi-aventis, a leading global pharmaceutical company, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions to improve the lives of everyone.