Sanofi S.A. is a French multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Paris, France, the world's fourth-largest by prescription sales. Sanofi engages in the research and development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceutical products for sale principally in the prescription market, but the firm also develops over-the-counter medication.
The company covers 7 major therapeutic areas: cardiovascular, central nervous system, diabetes, internal medicine, oncology, thrombosis and vaccines (it is the world's largest producer of the latter through its subsidiary Sanofi Pasteur). Sanofi is a full member of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA).
The company was formed as Sanofi-Aventis in 2004 by the merger of Aventis and Sanofi-Synthélabo. It changed its name to Sanofi in May 2011. In January 2012 Sanofi announced that they will invest $125 Million in Warp Drive Bio to support their cancer research program.
Collaborative Research
In addition to internal research and development activities Sanofi is also involved in publicly funded collaborative research projects, with other industrial and academic partners. One example in the area of non-clinical safety assessment is the InnoMed PredTox. The company is expanding its activities in joint research projects within the framework of the Innovative Medicines Initiative of EFPIA and the European Commission.
In June 2010, Sanofi and the Charite University of Berlin signed a cooperation agreement for the research and development of medicines and therapies.