Dendreon Corp fka DNDNQ

[stuck_holder]

Sanofi actually has an "active" immunotherapy research program, so their interest in this area isn't as surprising as it first seemed.

the following dated article refers to it

"the R&D centres studying cancer immunotherapy of Sanofi-Pasteur and GSK are respectively in Toronto http://www.cancervaccines.com/?fa=home/about Brussels http://www.gskbio.com/webapp/CM/CM_Entreprise.jsp"

the article goes on to discuss 3 domains of immuno-therapeutics namely Adoptive Immunotherapy,Non-antigen-specific Active Immunotherapy and Antigen-specific Active Immunotherapy (vaccines) & their status to date.

interestingly, under the heading "What is the future..." it has this to say...

"Immunotherapy cancer strategies will occupy a growing part of the therapeutic cancer arsenal. In the short term sales will increase specifically through the impetus of monoclonal antibodies. In 2014 three blockbusters will dominate the market with a turnover of over one billion dollars: Rituxan, Herceptine and Avastine. Moreover, recent studies have demonstrated the efficacy of Herceptine in patients with less advanced breast cancers, leaving the way open for broader indications for use of these monoclonal antibodies.

The breakthrough of therapeutic vaccines is much less certain. 2010 sales projections vary by a factor of ten between 600 million and 6 billion dollars. What is sure is the necessity of a primer with the first convincing product accepted. The most promising current candidates are Provenge (Dendreon) and PANVAC-VF (Therion), acting respectively against metastatic cancers of the prostate and the pancreas. Where immunotherapy was envisaged as substitution therapy just a few years ago, combinations with other therapies (notably chemotherapy) are now starting to appear.

http://www.parisdeveloppement.com/la-technopole-parisienne/les-poles-innovants/pole-sante/actualites...

Interestingly, Paris Development appears to be an initiative of both the City of Paris and the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, to promote economic growth in the French capital and appears to have only one biotech industry representative on its BoD...Philippe TCHENG, Public Affairs Director, Sanofi-Aventis.

I think it is way too premature to suggest that Sanofi is interested in owning much less buying DNDN or to make a big splash at a symposium organized by & presumably exclusively for eggheads, but I do think they have to have an interest in potentially partnering and wonder if DNDN's choosing of a late breaking session at ECCO 13 in Paris for Higano's 9902A presentation was more than just coincidental?