PARIS, May 14 (Reuters) – The French Competition Authority
fined drugmaker Sanofi 40.6 million euros ($52.7
million) on Tuesday for “disparaging” generic competition to its
Plavix blood thinner.

The decision on Tuesday follows a complaint filed in 2010 by
Teva Sante, a French unit of Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical
Industries, against Sanofi’s communication practices
towards health professionals aimed at discouraging the use of
generic versions of Plavix.

PARIS, April 23 (Reuters) – Accor Chairman and
Chief Executive Denis Hennequin, beset by scepticism over his
ability to turn around Europe’s largest hotels group, has
decided to resign and is likely to be replaced by a duo, a
source close to the board said.

The French company is expected to name board member
Sebastien Bazin, the head of Colony Europe, as chairman and
Accor’s Chief Operating Officer Yann Caillere as chief
executive, the source said on Tuesday.

PARIS, March 9 (Reuters) – Stentys said on
Saturday that a study has shown its self-expanding stents for
keeping blood vessels open have lower mortality rates than other
conventional devices.

The French medical technology firm said the study paves the
way to new markets for its tiny mesh tubes – which unlike
conventional stents fit into the contours of blood vessels,
change shape and adapt their diameters as vessels dilate and
initial clots dissolve.

PARIS, Jan 4 (Reuters) – Books-to-music retailer Virgin
Megastore’s French operation plans to declare itself insolvent
next week, the latest victim of an industry-wide slump in CD and
DVD sales as consumers download more film and music online.

The plan comes as high street woes intensify in the euro
zone’s second-biggest economy, where the jobless rate is at a
13-year high and where shoppers are reining in spending.

PARIS (Reuters) – French allergy drug maker Stallergenes (GENP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) wants to grow abroad through partnerships and acquisitions, and hopes ongoing discussions could lead to a deal in 2013, its head said.

Stallergenes expects the European market to remain flat next year, with sales in Spain and Italy, which represent a fifth of the total, continuing to decline, Chief Executive Roberto Gradnik told Reuters in an interview.

KABUL (Reuters) – On a low bed in a quiet, all-female hospital ward, a depressed Afghan teenager huddles silently under blankets, her mother close by. In a nearby room are men suffering from schizophrenia, delusions of persecution and power, anxiety and panic disorders.

Among them are some of the unseen victims of the war in Afghanistan: a generation of people mentally damaged by their exposure to incessant conflict.

PARIS, July 5 (Reuters) – Sanofi is planning to
cut a number of research jobs, a union source told Reuters on
Thursday, the latest in a series of cutbacks as the French
drugmaker responds to patent expiries and healthcare spending
cuts.

Chief Executive Chris Viehbacher told employees that the
unspecified number of job cuts, at its Toulouse and Montpellier
sites, would be achieved through voluntary redundancies, early
retirement and internal mobility, the source said.

PARIS, May 31 (Reuters) – Danone will look at
assets Nestle may need to sell to get its baby food
deal with Pfizer cleared, as the French food group is
keen to expand in baby milk in Latin America, mainly Mexico, and
catch up with its Swiss rival.

Danone, world No. 2 in baby food, lost out to market leader
Nestle in April when it bought U.S. drugmaker Pfizer’s brands
for $11.85 billion and secure dominance of fast-growing emerging
markets.

PARIS, April 4 (Reuters) – French dairy giant Danone
was caught out by the sudden success of creamy,
protein-rich Greek yoghurt among health-conscious U.S.
consumers, dismissing it as a fad.

Now the world’s biggest yoghurt maker is scrambling to
regain lost ground with a marketing push that included a $3
million TV ad during the Super Bowl, increased capacity and
stronger ties with U.S. retailers such as Wal-Mart.

PARIS (Reuters) – Sanofi SA (SASY.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) risks falling behind in the battle for share of the fast-growing multi-billion euro multiple sclerosis (MS) market, as rivals push ahead with revolutionary treatments while doubts remain over the French drugmaker’s own drug candidates.

Sanofi, which has relied on blood thinners and cancer therapies to drive sales but faces increased competition from generic drug versions, is preparing to submit two MS treatments for approval this year.