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the free encyclopedia.
Sanofi-Aventis (Euronext:FR0000120578)
(NYSE:SNY),
headquartered in
Paris,
France, is the world's number
3 company in the
pharmaceutical industry
(behind
Pfizer and
GlaxoSmithKline, but above
Merck and
AstraZeneca). Sanofi-Aventis
engages in the research,
development, manufacture and
marketing of pharmaceutical
products for sale principlally in
the presciption market.
Sanofi-Aventis covers 7
therapeutic areas:
cardiovascular,
thrombosis,
oncology,
diabetes,
central nervous system,
internal medicine and
vaccines.
History
Sanofi-Aventis
Sanofi-Aventis was formed in
2004 when
Sanofi-Synthélabo merged with
Aventis. In early 2004,
Sanofi-Synthélabo made a
hostile takeover bid worth
€47.8 bn against Aventis.
Initially, Aventis rejected the
bid because it offered inferior
value based on the company's share
value. The three-month takeover
battle concluded when
Sanofi-Synthélabo launched a
friendly bid of €54.5 bn in place
of the previously rejected hostile
bid. Government intervention also
played an active role.
French government, desiring a
local merger solution, put heavy
pressure on Sanofi-Synthélabo to
raise its bid for Aventis after it
became known that
Novartis, a
Swiss pharmaceutical company,
was in the running.
Sanofi-Synthélabo
Sanofi-Synthélabo was formed in
1999 when
Sanofi merged with
Synthélabo. The merged company
was based in Paris, France.
Aventis
Aventis was formed in 1999 when
Rhône-Poulenc S.A. merged with
Hoechst Marion Roussel, in turn
formed merging
Hoechst AG with Roussel and
Marion Merrell Dow. The merged
company was based in
Strasbourg, France.
Business
Management
Dehecq has been the
General Manager of Sanofi
since its creation in 1973.
Stockholders
Earnings
In
2003, Sanofi-Aventis's
consolidated sales was €25 bn. It
has operations in more than 100
countries throughout the 5
continents and has 99,700
employees worlwide.
Research and development
investment was €4 bn.
- Sales by activity breakdown:
39% from
Cardiovascular/Thrombosis, 29%
from Central Nervous System, 18%
from Internal Medicine, 11% from
Oncology, 3% from other
pharmaceutical products.
- Sales by geographic area
breakdown: 58% from Europe, 24%
from
US, 18% from rest of the
world.
Aventis Foundation
The Aventis Prizes for Science
Books, which celebrate the
very best in popular science
writing for adults and children,
have grown to be one of the
world's most prestigious
non-fiction literary prizes.
The Aventis Prizes are managed
by the
Royal Society, the
UK national academy of
science, and the Aventis
Foundation, a
German charitable trust
established in 1996 as the
Hoechst Foundation with an
endowment of €50 million. In
2000 the foundation was
renamed the Aventis Foundation
subsequent to the 1999 merger of
Hoechst and Rhône-Poulenc.
Company profiles
