Sanofi to buy UK vaccine maker Acambis

Sanofi-Aventis SA said its planned 276 million pound ($551 million) acquisition of Acambis PLC will bolster its leading position in the vaccine market and strengthen its development pipeline, according to the Associated Press. The deal, expected to close by the end of September, would add Acambis'' smallpox vaccine ACAM2000 to the existing portfolio of Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines business of Sanofi-Aventis. In April, Acambis won a $425 million, 10-year contract to provide the U.S. government with its ACAM2000 vaccine, which is the mainstay of the U.S.''s stockpile against smallpox.