Sanofi-Aventis will move into diabetes glucose testing

The French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis will broaden their healthcare resources on Wednesday by moving into an agreement to develop blood glucose monitors with AgaMatrix, a private American firm.
The group will firmly enter the medical devices market, and diversify away from the traditional Sanofi business of branded prescription drugs. Chief Executive Chris Viehbacher was reported by Reuters to be looking into different medical technology, including home diagnostic units. He commented last year: “The vision of the company is to become a healthcare company (so) it’s logical to look at some kinds of devices.”
The blood glucose monitoring system will be exclusive to Sanofi and will work alongside existing diabetes treatments . Pierre Chancel, the head of the diabetes division at Sanofi, reportedly commented: “This agreement is a concrete step towards fulfilling our vision to deliver integrated solutions to patients and become the partner of choice in the field of diabetes .”