Sanofi Pasteur to participate in first international bell-ringing event to eradicate polio

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY), today will participate in the first international bell-ringing event by a company listed on NYSE Euronext. The events will acknowledge past successes and future challenges in the battle to eradicate polio at the stock exchanges in New York, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Lisbon.

"Sanofi Pasteur stands shoulder to shoulder with Rotary International, the World Health Organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the myriad of other organizations that are engaged in this critical effort to save lives," said Olivier Charmeil, President and CEO of Sanofi Pasteur. "Protecting and improving human health worldwide is the main mission of Sanofi Pasteur. As a pioneer and leader in the development of polio vaccine the company stands behind all efforts that will eradicate the disease."

Sanofi Pasteur has been supporting the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) since its launch in 1988. GPEI's spearheading partners are Rotary International, the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and UNICEF. Since that time, Sanofi Pasteur has provided more than 5 billion doses of polio vaccine. Between 1997 and 2005, Sanofi Pasteur donated over 120 million doses for polio eradication to respond to emergency situations in African countries affected by conflicts. In response to an outbreak in Egypt and a request from WHO, the company developed the first monovalent oral polio vaccine, which helped in declaring Egypt polio free in 2006.

Recently, Sanofi Pasteur responded to a UNICEF request by committing to provide 400 million doses of polio vaccine in 2011-2012 for use in developing countries. The company has also developed specially formulated polio vaccines to target specific regions. While the standard oral polio vaccine (OPV) contains three virus strains, Sanofi Pasteur also supplies formulations containing one or two strains for specific situations. In addition to producing multiple formulations of OPV, the company is a leading supplier of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), which is available as a single-disease (polio) prevention vaccine as well as in various pediatric combination vaccines to help protect against other diseases.