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Our industry has great science, but it’s not getting translated into practice –this is where we plan to make a difference.”

  Sanofi-aventis is working diligently to get the message out that they now have a presence in the wound care arena. In addition, the Company wants to identify researchers and others who are similarly looking to bring prototypes forward and develop them into patient therapies. Dr. Jupp’s group has established numerous collaborations with academic partners who have expertise in material science and can enhance product delivery mechanisms. Such collaborations also include patient input through clinicians present within the Fibrosis & Wound Repair Therapeutic Strategy Unit.

  “As part of our partnering program, we have started to interact with scientists at MIT (Cambridge, MA),” Dr. Jupp says. “We are attempting to pull together researchers from different scientific fields to generate novel solutions for patients. As a pharmaceutical company, we have not historically done things this way but moving forward it is very important to leverage diverse scientific disciplines in order to develop a sophisticated delivery strategy that patients want to utilize. From talking to patients, we know that ideally they would like their diabetic foot ulcers to be treated once a week, not more frequently. We know that if patients are going to do well with a therapy, they need to be compliant with that therapy and inconvenience will thwart compliance.”

  Sanofi-aventis’s Fibrosis & Wound Repair Strategy Unit has researchers based in Bridgewater, NJ, and Paris, France. Researchers have expertise in biochemistry, cell biology and pharmacology. The clinicians in the Unit regularly interact with patients and scientists to help bridge the gap between science and bedside. “We have the ability to network with people from different scientific fields and disciplines in order to bring forth the necessary components to deliver a product — from idea through clinical proof of concept,” Dr. Jupp says. “We believe that chronic wounds are not going to be served effectively by a single scientific approach and we need to do something more than that— this is what we are endeavoring to do within the Fibrosis & Wound Repair Unit.”

  Visit www.sanofi-aventis.us for more information.