Sanofi-aventis Partners in European Atrial Fibrillation Research Consortium

Consortium Awarded European Union Grant for 5 Years of Atrial Fibrillation Research

PARIS, November 5, 2010 - Sanofi-aventis (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) announced today
that it is a partner in a new multidisciplinary atrial fibrillation research
consortium, the "European Network for Translational research in Atrial
Fibrillation" (EUTRAF), which has been awarded a EUR12 million grant to
engage in atrial fibrillation (AF) research. The European consortium is
commencing a five-year research project with the objectives of providing
highly interactive research with a variety of expertise to improve management
of AF including diagnosis, prevention and treatment.

"Sanofi-aventis is committed to further advancing AF patient
care and delighted to do so in collaboration with a network of highly
respected scientific institutions and recognised clinical experts in the
field of AF," said Marc Cluzel MD, PhD, Executive Vice President, Research
and Development, sanofi-aventis. "We are proud to provide sanofi-aventis R&D
expertise and to contribute new candidate molecules to the network.
Sanofi-aventis' pioneering research in AF spans several decades and has led
to innovations such as amiodarone, and dronedarone."

About EUTRAF

The European Network for Translational research in Atrial
Fibrillation (EUTRAF) is a consortium of expert groups involved in atrial
fibrillation research, including sanofi-aventis. The consortium was granted
EUR12 million in funding for a five-year atrial fibrillation research project
through the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) for European Union research. EUTRAF
has been grouped into a matrix structure by research area and related
competency to involve participants who possess a broad and synergistic range
of scientific and technological expertise. This structure will help optimise
the generation of new scientific knowledge across the whole consortium.

The EUTRAF consortium led by Professor John Camm from St-George's
University of London (UK), consists of 18 partners

    - St George's University of London (UK)
    - Maastricht University (Netherlands)
    - Université Pierre Marie Curie - Paris 6 (France)
    - Technische Universität Dresden (Germany)
    - Centre Hospitalier Universitaire - Bordeaux (France)
    - Westfälische Wilhelms - Universität Münster (Germany)
    - University Hospital Magdeburg (Germany)
    - Universität Bern (Switzerland)
    - Medical University of Graz (Austria)
    - Medical Information Technology Solutions (Turkey)
    - University of Oxford (UK)
    - UK Health & Environment Research Institute (UK)
    - Sanofi-aventis Deutschland GmbH (Germany)
    - Osypka AG (Germany)
    - Xention Ltd (UK)
    - Ruprecht-Karls Universität - Heidelberg (Germany)
    - Philipps Universität - Marburg (Germany)
    - Ernst-Moritz-Arndt Universität - Greifswald (Germany)

The role of sanofi-aventis in EUTRAF

Sanofi-aventis acts as the Exploitation Manager for the
project. The exploitation issues will be coordinated by the Project Steering
Unit composed of Coordinator, Technical Managers, the Consortium Manager and
the Exploitation Manager. This unit will be supported in its decisions by the
Management Board (MB) comprising one representative from each of the
partners. Sanofi-aventis is furthermore responsible of contributing with its
scientific expertise, as well as providing new candidate molecules into the
project.

About Atrial Fibrillation

The incidence of atrial fibrillation is growing worldwide in
relation to aging populations. It is emerging as a public health concern,
affects over 5 million people in Europe and represents one-third of
hospitalizations for arrhythmia in the European Union. Atrial fibrillation
leads to potential life-threatening complications. AF doubles the risk of
mortality, increases the risk of stroke up to five-fold, worsens the
prognosis of patients with cardiovascular risk factors, and increases the
risks of unplanned CV hospitalisations leading to a significant burden on
patients, health care providers and payers. Seventy percent of AF management
costs are driven by hospital care and interventional procedures in the
European Union.

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:
www.sanofi-aventis.com

Media Contact: Ingrid Görg-Armbrecht, +33-1-53-77-46-25 or +33-6-38-10-50-87, ingrid.goerg-armbrecht at sanofi-aventis.com