Sanofi-aventis U.S. has acquired commercial rights to Oforta (fludarabine phosphate film-coated tablets), an oral B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) drug, from biotechnology company Antisoma. Oforta is currently approved in the U.S. for use as a second-line therapy to treat adults with B-cell CLL.

“We are extremely pleased to add Oforta to our existing oncology portfolio, and believe it represents an exciting opportunity for Sanofi-aventis U.S.,” said John Harrington, vice president and head of the Oncology Business Unit at sanofi-aventis U.S. “Sanofi-aventis is a company committed to identifying and exploring new treatment options for patients facing serious diseases, such as CLL. This agreement further supports our efforts to help patients and complements our strong heritage of providing therapies to treat cancer.”

Antisoma currently licenses certain rights and purchases Oforta from Bayer Schering Pharma AG. As part of this transaction, Sanofi-aventis U.S. will also acquire these agreements.