Sanofi-Synthelabo announced that it has signed an agreement with Pfizer Inc regarding the divestment of Aventis' interests in Campto (irinotecan) in response to requests made by the competition authorities, a release from Sanofi said.

Subject to the consent of the US Federal Trade Commission and the success of Sanofi-Synthelabo's offer for Aventis, Pfizer will take over key clinical studies for Campto that are currently conducted by Aventis, together with certain patents and other assets pertaining to territories where Pfizer currently markets irinotecan, including the United States.

Pfizer will further, subject to certain conditions including clearance by European competition authority, acquire all other assets relating to Campto held by Aventis.

The consideration for the whole transaction is of $620 million and includes some milestone payments for the registration of future indications.

Campto is indicated for treatment of advanced colorectal cancer in combination with 5-fluorouracil (FU) and folinic acid (FA) in first-line treatment as well as monotherapy in second-line treatment.

Several Phase III studies are underway or have recently been completed to evaluate the use of Campto in adjuvant chemotherapy in colorectal cancer, advanced gastric cancer, small cell lung cancer, and non-small-cell lung cancer.

Aventis markets Campto, which was first launched in 1995 under a license from Yakult Honsha Company Limited, primarily in Europe, Asia and Africa. In 2003, Aventis' sales of Campto reached euro 264 million.