Sanofi Aventis buys a Cherokee potion company
Chattem, which Sanofi Aventis is buying for $1.9bn to bring its Allegra anti-allergy drug to the over-the-counter market, has some striking products – Gold Bond, Icy Hot and Selsun Blue to name three.
The company also has an intriguing history reaching back to the days of the snake oil salesman, before the 1906 Food and Drugs Act cleared up some of the dubious claims and salesmanship of the era. Read more
Rupert Murdoch produces the anti-imperalist Avatar
James Cameron’s Avatar has opened strongly, despite the winter storm on the east coast of the US, and is said to have made $232m on its opening weekend around the world. Read more
| About this blog | Blog guide |
John Gapper is an associate editor and the chief business commentator of the FT.
He has worked for the FT since 1987, covering labour relations, banking and the media. He is co-author, with Nicholas Denton, of 'All That Glitters', an account of the collapse of Barings in 1995.
Andrew Hill is an associate editor and the management editor of the FT. He is a former City editor, financial editor, comment and analysis editor, New York bureau chief, foreign news editor and correspondent in Brussels and Milan.
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