Sanofi Launches Multaq Late Stage Clinical Heart Study

French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis (SNY, SAN.FR) Wednesday said it is launching a Phase IIIb trial to assess the potential benefit of its heart drug Multaq in over 10,000 patients with permanent atrial fibrillation, or abnormal irregular heart rhythm.

With the study, termed Pallas, Sanofi seeks to show the drug prevents death from cardiovascular events and is well-tolerated.

The study is "of major significance since no anti-arrythmic drug has ever been shown to reduce major morbidity and mortality in permanent atrial fibrillation patients in a large-scale clinical trial," said Stuart Connolly of McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada and one of the principal investigators of the study.

Multaq was launched in the U.S. last year and in Europe early this year.

Credit Suisse analysts estimate the company will generate EUR100 million from Multaq sales this year.

By Mimosa Spencer, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]