Sanofi-Aventis officially assumed control of its new subsidiary Genzyme this week. And once again the French drugmaker is considering a name change. But this time, even though the company is expanding its R&D presence, the Paris-based pharma giant plans to shrink its moniker.

In 1999, Sanofi (a former subsidiary of oil conglomerate Total) and Synthélabo (a former subsidiary of L’Oréal cosmetics) joined forces and names to form Sanofi-Synthélabo. Five years later, the merged company acquired Aventis, and — voilà — Sanofi-Aventis was born.

But now, rather than becoming Sanofi-Aventis-Genzyme (or the full mouthful of Sanofi-Synthélabo-Rhône-Poulenc-Hoechst-Roussel Uclaf-Marion Merrell Dow-Genzyme had the drugmaker retained its full corporate familial heritage), the company is mulling over proporsals to return to its 1973 roots and adopt the simple title of Sanofi. According to a company spokesperson, this cut-down three-syllable designation should make the name more pronounceable in countries such as China, Bloomberg reports.

Sanofi is not alone in the lengthy pharma name game. In 1989, Bristol-Myers and the Squibb Corporation merged to become Bristol-Myers Squibb. Likewise, in 1999 Astra AB teamed up with the Zeneca Group to form AstraZeneca. And a year later, GlaxoSmithKline was created following the merger of its predecessors, Smith Kline Beecham and Glaxo Wellcome.

Meanwhile, other newly merged companies opted for brand new titles instead of double- and triple-barreled monstrous labels. For instance, Novartis emerged in 1996 from the joining of Ciby-Geigy and Sandoz Laboratories with a splashy new name.

So perhaps Sanofi needs a total makeover. Or the company could go the Brangelina route — Santis, anyone?