LYON, France and SWIFTWATER, Pennsylvania, February 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Sanofi Pasteur Stands Shoulder to Shoulder With Rotary International During NYSE and EURONEXT Bell-ringing Ceremonies

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY), today will participate in the first international bell-ringing event by a company listed on NYSE Euronext. The events will acknowledge past successes and future challenges in the battle to eradicate polio at the stock exchanges in New York, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Lisbon.

"Sanofi Pasteur stands shoulder to shoulder with Rotary International, the World Health Organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the myriad of other organizations that are engaged in this critical effort to save lives," said Olivier Charmeil, President and CEO of Sanofi Pasteur. "Protecting and improving human health worldwide is the main mission of Sanofi Pasteur. As a pioneer and leader in the development of polio vaccine the company stands behind all efforts that will eradicate the disease."

Sanofi Pasteur has been supporting the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) since its launch in 1988. GPEI's spearheading partners are Rotary International, the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and UNICEF. Since that time, Sanofi Pasteur has provided more than 5 billion doses of polio vaccine. Between 1997 and 2005, Sanofi Pasteur donated over 120 million doses for polio eradication to respond to emergency situations in African countries affected by conflicts. In response to an outbreak in Egypt and a request from WHO, the company developed the first monovalent oral polio vaccine, which helped in declaring Egypt polio free in 2006.

Recently, Sanofi Pasteur responded to a UNICEF request by committing to provide 400 million doses of polio vaccine in 2011-2012 for use in developing countries. The company has also developed specially formulated polio vaccines to target specific regions. While the standard oral polio vaccine (OPV) contains three virus strains, Sanofi Pasteur also supplies formulations containing one or two strains for specific situations. In addition to producing multiple formulations of OPV, the company is a leading supplier of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), which is available as a single-disease (polio) prevention vaccine as well as in various pediatric combination vaccines to help protect against other diseases.

About sanofi-aventis

Sanofi-aventis, a leading global pharmaceutical company, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions to improve the lives of everyone. Sanofi-aventis is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: SAN) and in New York (NYSE: SNY). For more information, please visit: http://www.sanofi-aventis.com

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group, provides more than 1 billion doses of vaccine each year, making it possible to immunize more than 500 million people across the globe. A world leader in the vaccine industry, Sanofi Pasteur offers the broadest range of vaccines protecting against 20 infectious diseases. The company's heritage, to create vaccines that protect life, dates back more than a century. Sanofi Pasteur is the largest company entirely dedicated to vaccines. Every day, the company invests more than EUR 1 million in research and development. For more information, please visit: http://www.sanofipasteur.com or http://www.sanofipasteur.us

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements include projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives, intentions and expectations with respect to future financial results, events, operations, services, product development and potential and statements regarding future performance. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "plans" and similar expressions. Although sanofi-aventis' management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of sanofi-aventis, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, future clinical data and analysis, including post marketing, decisions by regulatory authorities, such as the FDA or the EMA, regarding whether and when to approve any drug, device or biological application that may be filed for any such product candidates as well as their decisions regarding labelling and other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of such products candidates, the absence of guarantee that the products candidates if approved will be commercially successful, the future approval and commercial success of therapeutic alternatives, the Group's ability to benefit from external growth opportunities as well as those discussed or identified in the public filings with the SEC and the AMF made by sanofi-aventis, including those listed under "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in sanofi-aventis' annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2009. Other than as required by applicable law, sanofi-aventis does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements.

http://www.sanofipasteur.us

SOURCE sanofi pasteur