Second class action against Sanofi-Aventis

Notice has been given that a second class action has been commenced in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of Sanofi-Aventis publicly-traded stock or American Depository Receipts between February 17, 2006 and June 13 this year, by law firm Stull, Stull & Brody.

The complaint, like one filed a day earlier by Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins (Marketletter on-line November 14) charges Sanofi-Aventis and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. According to the complaint, in 2002, Sanofi began testing a new drug, Zimulti (rimonabant), which is designed to fight obesity by reducing appetite. As the first drug of its class, Zimulti was projected to become extremely profitable for the company.

The complaint alleges that defendants' statements regarding Zimulti were materially false and misleading when made because they concealed data concerning Zimulti's propensity to cause depression. On June 13, 2007, a US Food and Drug Administration committee met and made a unanimous decision that Zimulti could not be recommended for approval. After the FDA's decision on June 13, Sanofi-Aventis' securities declined $1.87, or 4.16%, closing at $43.07 on heavy trading volume.