From Wikicompany

Sanofi-Aventis (Euronext: Sanofi) (NYSE: SNY) is a French international pharmaceutical group, specialized in seven medical topics:

• Diabetes mellitus medicine
• Internal medicine
• Vaccine
• Circulatory system
• Thrombosis
• Central nervous system medication
• Oncology

The company is the world's number 3 company in the pharmaceutical industry.

History

Aventis was formed in 1999 when Rhône-Poulenc S.A. merged with Hoechst AG.

Sanofi-Aventis was formed in 2004 when Sanofi-Synthélabo merged with Aventis.

Hoechst AG was a company focusing on life sciences, specifically pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and animal health. The company was founded in Frankfurt, Germany, on December 7, 1951.

Aventis prizes for Science Books (formerly Hoechst Prizes), 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.