Sanofi-Aventis Revenue Swells

On the plus side, sales for the blood thinner Lovenox rose 14% to $2.59 billion last year, and Plavix's sales added 20%. The biggest percentage gainer among the big drugs was Lantus insulin, whose sales soared by 47.5% to $1.47 billion. Eloxatin, for colorectal cancer, recorded a 31% increase in sales to $1.89 billion.

Another strong performer was the human vaccines business, up 50% to $776 million in the fourth quarter vs. the same period in 2004, and up 27% to $2.49 billion for all of 2005. The company said the U.S. flu season was the most successful in its history as it sold 64 million doses of vaccine. Flu-vaccine revenue represented about one-third of total vaccine sales last year.

By midafternoon, Sanofi-Aventis' stock was down 70 cents, or 1.5%, to $45.17.

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