Sanofi-Aventis is the world's third-largest drugs firm
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French drugs giant Sanofi-Aventis has seen its profits jump by almost 54%, lifted by the sale of rights to larger US rival Pfizer.
The firm said net profits, adjusted for Sanofi's merger with Aventis in 2004, were 2.2bn euros ($2.4bn; £1.5bn) in the first three months of the year.
Sanofi-Aventis said Pfizer's purchase of the rights to its Exubera inhaled insulin product had boosted earnings.
Excluding such one-off gains, the French firm's net profits rose by 20%.
Sanofi-Aventis, which is the world's third-largest pharmaceutical company, said underlying sales during the first quarter rose by 4.9%.
That came despite US patent protection for some of the company's most successful drugs, including arthritis treatment Arava and diabetes drug Amaryl, expiring in the final three months for 2005.
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