Sanofi-aventis Partners in European Atrial Fibrillation Research Consortium

Paris, November 5 (ots/PRNewswire) - Sanofi-aventis announced
today that it is a partner in a new multidisciplinary atrial
fibrillation research consortium, the "European Network for
Translational research in Atrial Fibrillation" (EUTRAF), which has
been awarded a EUR12 million grant to engage in atrial fibrillation
(AF) research. The European consortium is commencing a five-year
research project with the objectives of providing highly interactive
research with a variety of expertise to improve management of AF
including diagnosis, prevention and treatment.

"Sanofi-aventis is committed to further advancing AF patient care
and delighted to do so in collaboration with a network of highly
respected scientific institutions and recognised clinical experts in
the field of AF," said Marc Cluzel MD, PhD, Executive Vice President,
Research and Development, sanofi-aventis. "We are proud to provide
sanofi-aventis R&D expertise and to contribute new candidate
molecules to the network. Sanofi-aventis' pioneering research in AF
spans several decades and has led to innovations such as amiodarone,
and dronedarone."

About EUTRAF

The European Network for Translational research in Atrial
Fibrillation (EUTRAF) is a consortium of expert groups involved in
atrial fibrillation research, including sanofi-aventis. The
consortium was granted EUR12 million in funding for a five-year
atrial fibrillation research project through the 7th Framework
Programme (FP7) for European Union research. EUTRAF has been grouped
into a matrix structure by research area and related competency to
involve participants who possess a broad and synergistic range of
scientific and technological expertise. This structure will help
optimise the generation of new scientific knowledge across the whole
consortium.

The EUTRAF consortium led by Professor John Camm from St-George's
University of London (UK), consists of 18 partners

- St George's University of London (UK)
- Maastricht University (Netherlands)
- Université Pierre Marie Curie - Paris 6 (France)
- Technische Universität Dresden (Germany)
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire - Bordeaux (France)
- Westfälische Wilhelms - Universität Münster (Germany)
- University Hospital Magdeburg (Germany)
- Universität Bern (Switzerland)
- Medical University of Graz (Austria)
- Medical Information Technology Solutions (Turkey)
- University of Oxford (UK)
- UK Health & Environment Research Institute (UK)
- Sanofi-aventis Deutschland GmbH (Germany)
- Osypka AG (Germany)
- Xention Ltd (UK)
- Ruprecht-Karls Universität - Heidelberg (Germany)
- Philipps Universität - Marburg (Germany)
- Ernst-Moritz-Arndt Universität - Greifswald (Germany)

The role of sanofi-aventis in EUTRAF

Sanofi-aventis acts as the Exploitation Manager for the project.
The exploitation issues will be coordinated by the Project Steering
Unit composed of Coordinator, Technical Managers, the Consortium
Manager and the Exploitation Manager. This unit will be supported in
its decisions by the Management Board (MB) comprising one
representative from each of the partners. Sanofi-aventis is
furthermore responsible of contributing with its scientific
expertise, as well as providing new candidate molecules into the
project.

About Atrial Fibrillation

The incidence of atrial fibrillation is growing worldwide in
relation to aging populations. It is emerging as a public health
concern, affects over 5 million people in Europe and represents
one-third of hospitalizations for arrhythmia in the European Union.
Atrial fibrillation leads to potential life-threatening
complications. AF doubles the risk of mortality, increases the risk
of stroke up to five-fold, worsens the prognosis of patients with
cardiovascular risk factors, and increases the risks of unplanned CV
hospitalisations leading to a significant burden on patients, health
care providers and payers. Seventy percent of AF management costs are
driven by hospital care and interventional procedures in the European
Union.

About sanofi-aventis

Sanofi-aventis, a leading global pharmaceutical company,
discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions to improve
the lives of everyone. Sanofi-aventis is listed in Paris and in New
York . For more information, please visit:
http://www.sanofi-aventis.com

ots Originaltext: sanofi-aventis Group
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
CONTACT: Media Contact: Ingrid Görg-Armbrecht, +33-1-53-77-46-25
or+33-6-38-10-50-87, ingrid.goerg-armbrecht@sanofi-aventis.com