FDA APPROVES NEW INDICATION FOR PLAVIX (clopidogrel bisulfate) OFFERING NEW OPTION FOR PATIENTS

-- Expands PLAVIX Indication to include patients with any acute coronary syndromes (ACS) -- PARIS, France and PRINCETON, NJ, Aug 17, 2006 – Sanofi-aventis (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for the antiplatelet agent PLAVIX® (clopidogrel bisulfate) to reduce the rate of death from any cause and the rate of a combined endpoint of re-infarction, stroke or death in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). STEMI is a severe acute heart attack in which a coronary artery is generally blocked completely. These blockages are caused by clot formation in the arteries, a life-threatening complication of an underlying disease known as atherothrombosis. However, this benefit is not known to pertain to patients who receive primary angioplasty.