People In Brief

Weinberg succeeds Dehecq as Sanofi chairman: The Sanofi-Aventis board appoints Serge Weinberg chairman to succeed Jean Francois Dehecq, who resigns his board duties but will serve as honorary board chairman and as president of the newly formed Sanofi Espoir Foundation, which supports implementing health and solidarity programs worldwide. In a May 17 release, Dehecq said he leaves the chairman post after record revenue year for the firm and "with confidence in the collaboration of Serge Weinberg and [CEO] Chris Viehbacher to lead Sanofi-Aventis to further successes." Sanofi, which expects to double its OTC segment's size in five years through acquisitions by 2014, made an offer for Polish consumer product firm Nepentes. The firm's consumer health care business grew 42.5 percent to $661.1 million in most recent quarter (see story p. 6)