A former executive of French drugmaker Sanofi, Mark Cupo, has been sentenced to 16 months in prison in the U.S. for insider trading, after cooperating with prosecutors.

A judge in the New Jersey federal court hearing the case said the 53-year-old was a leader of a ring that made $1.4 million in profit off pharmaceutical and medical-technology company tips.

Cupo pleaded guilty after making secret recordings of the two primary traders in the ring.

Prosecutors initially had asked for a 46-57 month sentence for the Sanofi executive. Assistant U.S. attorney Shirley Emehedu said Cupo made more than $50,000 in cash through the scheme.

John Lazorchak, a former Celgene director of financial reporting, who the court said - along with Cupo - was a primary architect of the scheme, was to be sentenced on Apr. 22. Lazorchak is claimed to have received tips from a former Stryker executive, Mark Foldy, who was sentenced to a two-year probationary term with six months' home confinement.

The tips concerned Celgene's plans to buy Pharmion for $2.9 billion and Abraxis BioScience for the same price, along with Sanofi's acquisition of Chattem for $1.9 billion and Stryker's plan to buy Orthovita for $316 million, according to U.S. stock market watchdog, Securities and Exchange Commission, which sued the men.