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To: SpinCity1 who wrote (51359)	4/29/2002 8:58:21 AM
From: SpinCity1	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 208838

GNTA news Reuters Business Aventis signs Genta cancer drug in $480 mln deal By Ben Hirschler, European Pharmaceuticals Correspondent LONDON, April 29 (Reuters) - Franco-German drugs firm Aventis (AVEP.PA) bolstered its cancer portfolio on Monday by signing a deal with Genta Inc (NasdaqNM:GNTA - news) to jointly develop and market the U.S. biotech firm's leading cancer drug Genasense. ADVERTISEMENT Genta will receive up to $480 million in cash, equity and convertible debt under the deal, assuming it achieves clinical success and regulatory approvals. The deal is the latest evidence that pharmaceutical companies are having to pay ever higher prices to access promising new drugs from biotechnology companies. Genta and Aventis will jointly develop and co-market Genasense in the United States, and Aventis will have exclusive development and marketing rights to the product elsewhere. The two companies are expected to focus on using Genasense, which is designed to boost the effectiveness of chemotherapy, in combination with Aventis' existing anti-cancer medicine Taxotere. Genasense, currently in late-stage Phase III clinical trials to treat skin and blood cancers, works by inhibiting production of a protein called Bcl-2, which is believed to be a key factor in the development of resistance to chemotherapy. Analysts believe it could be a billion-dollar-plus seller, although the technology behind the product is viewed as relatively risky. ANTISENSE The drug is based on antisense technology, which works at the genetic level to inhibit the production of disease-causing proteins. Antisense has recently caught the attention of several big drug companies again, after an early rush of enthusiasm for the technology a decade ago was followed by a series of disappointments. Aventis had been tipped as a frontrunner to sign a deal for Genasense, alongside Swiss healthcare group Roche Holding AG (ROCZg.VX). Patrick Langlois, chief financial officer, told Reuters last year he was keen to strike more tie-ups with biotechnology companies. In 2000, Aventis clinched one of the world's biggest biotech deals at the time when it paid Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc (NasdaqNM:MLNM - news) $450 million for a stake in the U.S. firm and rights to its drug discovery skills. Since then the cost of accessing new biotech drugs has increased significantly with prices driven higher by competition among pharmaceutical companies eager to fill out lacklustre in-house new product pipelines. "There is a dearth of new high-potential compounds coming through from the drug industry and companies are having to pay large amounts for good quality late-stage compounds from biotech," said Franc Gregori, industry analyst at BNP Paribas. "Yet biotech valuations are not reflecting that." Shares in Aventis, which reports first-quarter results on Tuesday, were 1.5 percent lower at 76.55 euros in a weaker market for European drugs stocks by 1010 GMT.