UCB and Sanofi-Aventis will jointly market the allergic rhinitis treatment Xyzal (levocetirizine dihydrochloride) in the United States, the companies announced.

Although details were not released, Sanofi will make an upfront payment to Brussels, Belgium-based UCB as well as milestone payments. Xyzal, a once-daily antihistamine, was launched in Europe in 2001 and is marketed in 49 countries.

The Xyzal NDA was filed in July 2006 and a standard review is expected.

Sanofi might have entered into the agreement as a result of the Sept. 2005 launch of generics of its allergic rhinitis treatment Allegra (fexofenadine). Although Sanofi still markets Allegra-D (fexofenadine/pseudepedrine), the firm has reallocated some of its Allegra sales force to promote the sleep aid Ambien CR (zolpidem extended-release)(¹ Also see "Allegra Authorized Generic Scripts Could Reach 40% By Year-End, Sanofi Says" - Pink Sheet, 8 November, 2005.).

The agreement announcement came just a matter of hours after UCB said it had made a $5.61 bil. offer to acquire Germany-based Schwarz Pharma (² Also see "May The Schwarz Be With You: UCB Proposes $5.6 Bil. Acquisition" - Pink Sheet, 25 September, 2006.).

UCB has an existing co-promotion deal with Pfizer for the antihistamine Zyrtec (cetirizine), which losses patent protection in December 2007.

- Jonathan M. Block (j.block@elsevier.com)

UCB’s Next Allergy Partner Is Sanofi-Aventis

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