Sanofi's attempt to take over Aventis reflects its own status as takeover material for other companies, particularly after it loses the protection of its current shareholder structure. But it is also convinced that its highly productive R&D organization can make much better use of Aventis' R&D expenditures than Aventis has done. Nonetheless, Sanofi, which has been limited in the past by its Franco-centrism, particularly in the key American market, must use the transaction to transform the company into a far more internationally managed and culturally diverse organization. Indeed, for all the European flavor of this deal, it portends an even greater Americanization of the drug business.

A panel of longtime industry experts offer manufacturers a list of things they should and shouldn’t do when an investigator from the US agency knocks on their facility door. In this fourth installment of a 10-part series, the experts address so-called back rooms used by manufacturers during an inspection.

Recruiting generics firms to the AMR Industry Alliance is a key area of focus for the group as part of its efforts to cover a greater proportion of the global supply of antimicrobials, according to the Alliance’s latest report.