The Pernicious Rise of 'Core Europe'

摘要

What does a French pharmaceutical merger have to do with the future of Europe? At first glance, not a lot. On Apr. 26, when Jean-Francois Dehecq, the chief of Sanofi-Synthelabo, announced that his bid for rival French drugmaker Aventis had won the day, he talked glowingly of the new group's promise: It would be the world's No. 3 Pharmaceuticals producer, and it would boast a $4.5 billion research budget. Oh, and the headquarters would be in Paris.