Senate panel hits Sanofi payments

Sanofi SA contributed more than $5 million to two medical groups and a medical researcher that encouraged U.S. regulators to delay approval of a drug that would undercut the company's blockbuster blood-thinner Lovenox, according to a new report from the Senate Finance Committee. Letters to the FDA from the groups--the Society of Hospital Medicine and the North American Thrombosis Forum—and the researcher, Victor Tapson, a thrombosis expert at Duke University, said that generic versions of Lovenox, a fast-acting anticlotting medicine, might not be as safe as the brand-name drug, according to the report. The letters didn't mention financial ties to Sanofi.