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Sanofi Pasteur's New Polio Vaccine Licensed for Use in Novel Approach to Global Eradication Efforts

Lyon, France (ots/PRNewswire)

- First New Vaccine Against Polio in Decades to Be Used in Egypt,
Part of Innovative WHO Strategy
Sanofi pasteur, the vaccines business of the sanofi-aventis group,
has received a license from the Agence Française de Securité
Sanitaire des Produits de Santé (AFSSAPS) for a new polio vaccine,
which is the first new vaccine developed to fight that disease in
decades. The new vaccine - Monovalent Oral Polio Vaccine 1 or MOPV1 -
will be used first in Egypt as a critical part of a new World Health
Organization's strategy to end polio transmission by the end of this
year.
The WHO asked the company to mount an urgent program to develop,
produce and license MOPV1 to meet this important public health need.
Types 2 and 3 poliovirus already had been eliminated from Egypt,
leaving only type 1 poliovirus in circulation. Current polio vaccines
contain the 3 types of virus. Scientists believe that the single
strain will be more efficient than a trivalent vaccine in stopping
the virus. Sanofi pasteur has produced  50,000,000 doses of MOPV1 for
use, once licensed by the National Organization for Drug Control and
Research of Egypt, in mass immunization campaigns in Egypt starting
in May. The vaccine has been produced at the company's Val de Reuil,
France facility.
"From green light to production in four months was a real
challenge, and sanofi pasteur met that challenge," said Dr. David
Heymann, the WHO Director General's representative for polio
eradication.
"We've been proud to be part of polio vaccine history for 50
years, but this latest chapter is particularly significant because of
this vaccine's potentially unique role in helping to move eradication
back on track," said David J. Williams, chairman and CEO of sanofi
pasteur and Senior Vice President, Vaccines, sanofi-aventis Group.
"As a member of the immunization community and a partner in polio
eradication, we felt that it was essential to respond to this need."
Sanofi pasteur also will provide bulk MOPV1 to one manufacturer in
India to fill and package for local use.
By 2005, sanofi pasteur will have donated 120 million doses of
polio vaccine during a decade of partnership in Africa. The company
will continue to commit resources to "finish the job and protect the
investment" in polio eradication, supplying oral and inactivated
polio vaccines and vaccine combinations containing IPV to meet the
needs of eradication and prepare for the future of a polio-free
world.
Sanofi pasteur is the world's leading provider of polio vaccines,
both oral and inactivated. The history of the company has been
intertwined with that of the fight against polio for 50 years,
including the development in 1954, in Toronto, Canada, of a novel
growth medium (M199) from which came the virus used for the
large-scale trial of the first polio vaccine, the Salk Vaccine, an
inactivated polio vaccine (IPV). The 50th anniversary of the license
of that vaccine is in April 2005. Consequently, the company felt it
was particularly important to participate in this latest chapter
because of the vaccine's potentially significant role in moving
eradication back on track.
About sanofi-aventis
The sanofi-aventis Group is the world's third-largest
pharmaceutical company, ranking number one in Europe. Backed by a
world-class R&D organization, sanofi-aventis is developing leading
positions in seven major therapeutic areas: cardiovascular disease,
thrombosis, oncology, metabolic diseases, central nervous system,
internal medicine, and vaccines. The sanofi-aventis Group is listed
in Paris (EURONEXT: SAN) and in New York (NYSE: SNY).
Sanofi pasteur, the vaccines business of the sanofi-aventis Group,
sold 950 million doses of vaccine in 2004, making it possible to
protect more than 500 million people across the globe, which is about
1.4 million per day. The company offers the broadest range of
vaccines, providing protection against 20 bacterial and viral
diseases. For more information, please visit: www.sanofipasteur.com
Forward Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined
in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
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 and expectations with respect to  future operations,
products and services, and statements regarding future  performance.
Forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words
"expect," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates" 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 and Aventis,  including those listed under
"Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors"  in sanofi-aventis's
annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December  31, 2003 and
those listed under "Cautionary Statement Regarding  Forward-Looking
Statements" and "Risk Factors" in Aventis's annual report on  Form
20-F for the year ended December 31, 2003. Other than as required by
applicable law, sanofi-aventis does not undertake any obligation to
update or  revise any forward-looking information or statements.

Contact:

Michel Joly, Deputy Vice President, Communications and Vice President
Brand and Scientific Communication, Sanofi-aventis, Tél :
+33-(0)1-53-77-47-86, fax : +33-(0)1-53-77-41-74; Beth Waters, Senior
Vice President Communications, Sanofi pasteur, Tél : +
33-(0)4-37-37-73-99, Mobile : +1-917-770-21-44, Fax :
+33-(0)4-37-37-79-76; Len Lavenda, Sanofi pasteur U.S. Media
Relations, Tél. : +1-570-839-4446, Len.Lavenda@sanofipasteur.com

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