Sanofi-Aventis has offered $550 million to buy out UK-based vaccine maker Acambis. Acambis’ board has agreed to the acquisition. Sanofi’s vaccine division, Sanofi Pasteur, has worked with Acambis for more than a decade and is currently partnered with it for three projects.

Sanofi Pasteur president and chief executive officer Wayne Pisano remarked, “We are delighted that the board of Acambis has unanimously agreed to recommend our proposed acquisition. This mutually beneficial acquisition is a logical step building upon Sanofi Pasteur and Acambis’ decade long partnership on key projects to develop and market vaccines of the future. Acambis’ skilled workforce made of individuals who share our passion for vaccines and prevention of diseases will contribute to our future success. We look forward to welcoming them into Sanofi Pasteur’s innovation driven organization.”
 
Acambis markets a smallpox vaccine to the U.S. government and has several other late-stage programs in place, targeting Japanese encephalitis, dengue and West Nile virus, along with several other early-stage programs.