Word travels fast when you live in Macy’s window. And Chris Viehbacher, who yesterday announced his pending departure from Glaxo, where he was passed over for the ceo job, is now reported to be taking a top position at Sanofi-Aventis, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Viehbacher, who acknowleged he was pursuing “another opportunity,” would bring some needed US experience to Sanofi-Aventis. As the paper notes, the drugmaker has not much success in launching new products that can offset the looming patent loss of its older best-selling drugs. That has helped depress Sanofi shares, which are down 22% from year-ago levels, and pressured ceo Gerard Le Fur.

With the looming patent expiration of two top-selling drugs, blood-thinner Plavix and the Lovenox blood clotter, the drugmaker needs new meds. The Ketek antibiotic Acomplia fat pill were once seen as potential blockbusters, but were stymied by links to side effects.

Scheduled to depart on December 1, Viehbacher runs Glaxo’s North American pharma unit. Along with the president of Glaxo’s pharma biz, David Stout, who left last February, Viehbacher was one of two execs who lost the recent race to succeed JP Garnier as Glaxo’s ceo, a position now held by Andrew Witty. Sanofi-Aventis and Glaxo declined to comment to the paper.