The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health and sanofi-aventis announced an unprecedented donation from the global pharmaceutical leader providing approximately $1.3 million in pharmaceutical therapies for ongoing use in clinical trials and other therapeutic treatments at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center.

Designated by the Foundation for NIH as the Clinical Center Drug Donation Project, this gift has been provided by sanofi-aventis US to be used for scientific purposes as defined and overseen by the NIH. The donation of three medicines - Taxotere (docetaxel), Eloxatin (oxaliplatin) and Lovenox (enoxaparin sodium) - will be made over the course of one year.

"At a time when the costs of managing clinical trials are on the rise and budgets are extremely tight, receiving pharmaceutical products at no cost enables us to extend the Center's resources to continue its groundbreaking research in many promising areas such as cell processing, imaging sciences and critical care," said Charles M Sanders, chairman of the Foundation for NIH. "We are grateful to sanofi-aventis for advancing NIH-sponsored clinical research with this generous donation and hope that other pharmaceutical companies will follow its lead. We are proud to support the ability of the NIH to pursue new and cutting-edge research by freeing up much needed resources," added Marc Cluzel, senior vice president Research & Development at sanofi-aventis. "We have been committed to supporting clinical research in key therapeutic areas for more than 50 years, and this partnership is another example of the company's steadfast commitment to advancing research, and ultimately, helping patients."

The NIH Clinical Center is the largest hospital in the United States entirely devoted to clinical research, with more than 1,500 studies currently in progress, most of which are clinical trials.

The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health was established by the United States Congress to support the mission of the National Institutes of Health - improving health through scientific discovery.