Covance Inc. and Sanofi-Aventis have signed a 10-year R&D agreement potentially worth more than $2 billion. Covance will provide drug development services to SA and will acquire SA’s Porcheville, France and Alnwick, UK sites and facilities for approximately $25 million. Covance will maintain employment on these sites for at least the next five years.

Characterizing this change in Sanofi’s R&D model,Marc Cluzel, M.D., Ph.D., the company’s executive vice president, R&D, remarked, “This alliance with Covance will help us preserve hundreds of valuable jobs in Porcheville and Alnwick, while driving our R&D efficiency for the benefit of the patients.”

“We look forward to welcoming the world-class scientific talent in Porcheville and Alnwick to Covance, as well as adding state-of-the-art assets and new services to our portfolio,” said Joe Herring, Covance’s chairman and chief executive officer.

Sanofi will utilize Covance’s global R&D offerings in discovery support, toxicology, chemistry, clinical Phase I-IV, central laboratory, and market access services, with annual commitments for services increasing over the next decade. These agreements include a 10-year sole-source relationship for central laboratory services. Covance estimates payments from the deal will range between $1.2 billion and $2.2 billion.

Covance will acquire CMC services with the addition of the Porcheville and Alnwick sites, including preformulation, drug formulation, preclinical and early-stage clinical API manufacturing, and radiolabeled chemistry. The transaction is expected to be completed before the end of the year.