Dausse-Synthelabo

Synthelabo was a prominent French pharmaceutical company formed in 1970 through the merger of Laboratoires Dausse and Laboratoires Robert & Carrière. Headquartered in Paris and majority-owned by L'Oréal for much of its history, the company specialized in the research and development of small molecule therapeutics for the central nervous system, cardiovascular system, and internal medicine. Synthelabo is best known for developing the globally successful hypnotic medication Ambien (zolpidem) and the alpha-blocker Xatral (alfuzosin) for benign prostatic hyperplasia. In 1999, the company merged with Sanofi to form Sanofi-Synthelabo, which later became the global pharmaceutical giant Sanofi after acquiring Aventis. The merger was a transformative event in the European pharmaceutical landscape, combining Synthelabo's strong R&D pipeline with Sanofi's international reach.