Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP Files Class Action Suit against Sanofi-Aventis

Business Wire, Nov 13, 2007

NEW YORK -- Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP ("Coughlin Stoia") (http://www.csgrr.com/cases/sanofi/) today announced that a class action has been commenced on behalf of an institutional investor in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of Sanofi-Aventis ("Sanofi" or the "Company") (NYSE:SNY) publicly traded stock or American Depository Receipts ("ADRs") between February 17, 2006 and June 13, 2007 (the "Class Period").

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from today. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff's counsel, Samuel H. Rudman or David A. Rosenfeld of Coughlin Stoia at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058, or via e-mail at djr@csgrr.com. If you are a member of this class, you can view a copy of the complaint as filed or join this class action online at http://www.csgrr.com/cases/sanofi/. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.

The complaint charges Sanofi and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Sanofi-Aventis engages in the research, development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products worldwide.

Sanofi is the third largest pharmaceutical company in the world. According to the complaint, in 2002, Sanofi began testing a new drug, Zimulti, which is designed to fight obesity by reducing appetite. As the first drug of its class, Zimulti was projected to become extremely profitable for Sanofi. Sanofi submitted its New Drug Application ("NDA") for Zimulti in April 2005 and on June 23, 2005, the Company announced that the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") had accepted it for filing. The complaint alleges that defendants' statements regarding Zimulti were materially false and misleading when made because defendants concealed data concerning Zimulti's propensity to cause depression.

On June 13, 2007, the committee met and made a unanimous decision that Zimulti could not be recommended for approval. After the FDA's decision on June 13, 2007, Sanofi's securities declined $1.87, or 4.16%, closing at $43.07 on heavy trading volume.

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of Sanofi publicly traded stock or ADRs during the Class Period (the "Class"). The plaintiff is represented by Coughlin Stoia, which has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud.

Coughlin Stoia, a 180-lawyer firm with offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boca Raton, Washington, D.C., Houston and Philadelphia, is active in major litigations pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States and has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, consumers, and companies, as well as victims of human rights violations. Coughlin Stoia lawyers have been responsible for more than $45 billion in aggregate recoveries. The Coughlin Stoia Web site (http://www.csgrr.com) has more information about the firm.