Aventis Antes Up in Antibodies

Aventis SA's oncology franchise is anchored by the blockbuster Taxotere. Sales of the drug comprise more than 8% of Aventis's core pharma business, and are currently growing more than 25% worldwide and in the US. Yet until recently, the firm had few other products with which to leverage its commercial infrastructure in oncology. It is therefore teaming up with ImmunoGen Inc. to create antibody-based oncology therapeutics using drug targets provided by both companies.