Sanofi-Aventis Net Income Down 6.3 Percent

Sanofi-aventis profits and sales were badly hurt by generic competition with its sleep drug Ambien in the U.S. and its colorectal cancer drug Eloxatin in Europe during the second quarter of the year, the company reported.

The French company’s net income totaled $2.3 billion, down 6.3 percent from the second quarter of last year, after taking minority interests into account. Adjusted net sales were $9.5 billion, down 2 percent from last year.

Without the generic competition, sales would have risen 7.1 percent in the second quarter, sanofi-aventis said. This puts the company in the same boat as GlaxoSmithKline, which also reported that second quarter sales had been depressed by generic competition.