About the History of Sanofi-Aventis Factory Inspection in China

Sanofi-Aventis is the world's third largest and Europe's largest professional pharmaceutical company, with operations in more than 100 countries around the world and listed in Paris, France and New York, USA. The group has world-class R&D institutions, with 11,000 scientists in 20 research centers dedicated to researching and developing innovative treatment solutions, mainly in the fields of cardiovascular, thrombosis, tumors, central nervous system, diabetes, internal medicine and vaccines.

Sanofi-Aventis China is headquartered in Shanghai and has three joint venture factories with approximately 1,600 employees.

In 1982, Sanofi was one of the first foreign pharmaceutical groups to enter China and opened an office in Beijing. The first contract signed was for the antiarrhythmic drug Cordarone.

In 1995, French pharmaceutical group Sanofi and Hangzhou Minsheng Pharmaceutical Group jointly invested in the establishment of the first Sino-French joint venture pharmaceutical company: Hangzhou Sanofi Minsheng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., with its headquarters in Shanghai and production base in Hangzhou, producing Sanofi and Minsheng products.

In 1999, with the merger of Sanofi and Synthelabo Group, the joint venture was renamed Hangzhou Sanofi-Synthelabo Minsheng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

In 2003, it was the fastest growing joint venture in the pharmaceutical market.