Venture capital
Former Sanofi CEO reinvents himself
Chris Viehbacher’s ugly ouster from Sanofi hasn’t damped his appetite for pharmaceuticals and science. The former chief executive of France’s largest drug maker will run Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli’s US based Gurnet Point Capital fund. He has also joined the board of the technology transfer company PureTech Health PLC, which raised $171 million in an initial public offering in London this month. Viehbacher (left), 55, once a candidate to run GlaxoSmithKline, plans to stay in Boston, the city from which he tried to run Paris-based Sanofi. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
Technology
Gmail makes ‘undo send’ easier
SAN FRANCISCO — Google is making it easier to steer clear of the trouble that can be caused by a misdirected or inappropriate e-mail. An option to cancel the delivery of an e-mail within 30 seconds of hitting the send button is now a standard safeguard in Google’s Gmail, part of a settings change made this week. The ‘‘undo send’’ feature had been available for six years in Google’s experimental labs, but that required Gmail users to take extra steps to get it. Google inserted the ‘‘undo send’’ feature last month into an e-mail management application called ‘‘Inbox’’ designed for mobile devices. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Health
CEOs seek to end stigma of mental illness in workplace
When we talk about our personal lives in the workplace, there are some things we don’t bring up. The birth of a child, sure. An appointment with your cardiologist, maybe. But a panic attack on the way to work, or a major depressive episode? Probably not. A group of business leaders is trying to change that. CEOs Against Stigma, a group organized by the Massachusetts chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, kicks off a campaign on Friday to recruit Massachusetts chief executives who will pledge to foster openness and support at their companies. The campaign said it has 25 CEOs already signed up, including the head of the Massachusetts Port Authority, Thomas Glynn, and executives from Beacon Health Options and Commonwealth Medicine. — JACK NEWSHAM
Media
Showtime trims price for Hulu subscribers
LOS ANGELES — Showtime is trimming its price to $9 a month for Hulu subscribers in a deal that will make it the first premium pay TV service offered through Hulu. The price is less than the $12 a month it costs to access Showtime’s app on its own and would bring the price of Showtime plus Hulu Plus to $17 a month. The service will integrate Showtime shows into the Hulu platform and be available ahead of the July 12 premiere of Season 3 of ‘‘Ray Donovan.’’
— ASSOCIATED PRESS
Energy
Biogen says it’s now carbon-neutral
Biogen, the most valuable company in Massachusetts, said Tuesday that it has cut its net carbon emissions to zero — thanks to a decade of curtailing its energy use and supporting renewable energy projects. Several other major companies, including Microsoft, have also aimed for carbon neutrality, but the move by the pharmaceutical giant is a big one for Massachusetts. Everything from Biogen’s supply chain to the greenhouse gases discharged by its employees’ cars was taken into account, said Hector Rodriguez, director of environmental health. Nearly 1 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions will be curtailed every year through the company’s efforts, he said. Biogen, valued at $98 billion, reached its goal by cutting back on waste, building more efficient structures, and buying renewable energy credits. — JACK NEWSHAM
Retail
Stop & Shop, Hannaford owners closer to merging
Royal Ahold NV said it is in the final stages of negotiation with Delhaize Group, indicating that a merger to create the fifth-biggest US supermarket retailer is near. Ahold, based in the Netherlands, owns Stop & Shop. Delhaize, of Belgium, owns Hannaford and Food Lion. Hannaford has 25 stores in Massachusetts; Stop & Shop has 131. If the companies combine, they would create one of the largest grocery chains on the East Coast. Both companies do about 60 percent of their business in the United States. Financieele Dagblad reported a deal could be announced as early as this week. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
Public policy
Senators express anger over air bag problems
WASHINGTON — Senators threatened to withhold funding from the nation’s auto safety agency until it improves its ability to spot defects like Takata Corp.’s exploding air bags. The Senate Commerce Committee met Tuesday to grill Takata on its recall of 33.8 million air bags, the largest recall in US history. At least eight people have been killed and 100 injured by the air bags, which can explode with too much force and spew shrapnel — a problem has persisted for more than a decade, affecting 11 automakers. But much of the panel’s ire was directed at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and its numerous missteps in the Takata investigation and in last year’s recall of General Motors vehicles for defective ignition switches. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Economy
Greece says it can’t avoid harsh reforms
ATHENS — Greece’s economic reform plan includes ‘‘harsh’’ measures the government would not have proposed if it had a choice, a spokesman said. Greece this week offered a series of measures, including tax increases, to persuade its creditors to release bailout funds and keep the country from defaulting on its debt. The creditors, which include other eurozone states and the International Monetary Fund, have demanded changes that will make Greece’s economy sustainable. After meetings in Brussels on Monday, creditors said the new plans offer a good basis to break a four-month deadlock. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Education
UMass OK’s business PhD in Dartmouth
Real estate
Despite opposition, Gate of Heaven condos get ZBA approval
A plan to convert a Catholic school in South Boston into condominiums won a key zoning approval Tuesday. Developer Oranmore Enterprises LLC proposes 26 condos in the four-story Gate of Heaven school (right), which closed in 2008. Its plan won preliminary approval from City Hall in March. On Tuesday, the Zoning Board of Appeals approved zoning exceptions the project needs to proceed. Michael Moore, project manager, said the only hurdle now is obtaining a routine building permit. He plans to begin construction in September. Though the project is modest, a vocal group of residents has maneuvered to block it, saying it would crowd the area and calling it a symbol of unwanted gentrification. Last year, the Gate of Heaven Neighborhood Association persuaded City Hall to put the development on hold for months while residents unsuccessfully searched for a charter school to use the building. In March, Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s administration allowed the project to go before the Boston Redevelopment Authority for approval, enraging neighbors. “I do understand there is an element in the community that wanted to see a school there, but it just wasn’t viable,” Moore said. “If it was, it would have happened.” Dozens of neighbors showed up at Tuesday’s hearing to deliver a petition they said had 2,000 signatures — to no avail. — DAN ADAMS