1995: Year Of Consolidation For Sanofi

Jean-Francois Dehecq, chairman of French health and beauty company Sanofi, told the firm's shareholders at the recent annual general meeting that 1995 was, above all, a year of consolidation, since Sanofi had to integrate all the business activities acquired from Sterling Winthrop in 1994. This was done successfully in the established time frame.

Another form of consolidation has been the increase in the firm's stake in the Hungarian drug company, Chinoin (Marketletters passim). In central and eastern Europe, in addition to the bridgehead represented by Chinoin, Sanofi is present in over 20 markets through representative offices and subsidiaries and is actively preparing further operations to bolster its presence locally.

In 1995, the firm was also particularly active in Asia, where it created a joint venture in China and increased its shareholding in its Vietnamese subsidiary, and in the beginning of 1996, it signed a joint venture agreement in India with Torrent Pharmaceuticals.