Dive Brief:
- Starting in January, Sanofi will have five busines units -- down from seven today.
- Sanofi’s established products, generics, consumer healthcare and all pharmaceutical businesses in emerging markets will be grouped under the General Medicines & Emerging Markets Global Business banner, which is to be headed up by Peter Guenter.
- Specialty Care will be renamed Sanofi Genzyme and will include rare diseases, multiple sclerosis and oncology. This division will be headed up by David Meeker. Meanwhile, Pascale Witz will head up the Diabetes & Cardiovascular unit.
Dive Insight:
According to Sanofi's CEO Olivier Brandicourt (pictured above), the goal is to streamline operations and promote growth. In fact, the company is primed to launch up to six new medicines this year, as well as another four between 2016 and 2018.
While there are many changes afoot, Sanofi Pasteur and Merial will continue to manage their current portfolios, which include vaccines and animal health products. Beyond that, however, there has already been some large-scale change, including Sanofi replacing one-third of its sales force in the US, largely in response to poor sales for its insulin product, Lantus. And although Sanofi did not beat Amgen to market with its PSCK-9 inhibitor for hypercholesterolemia, Praluent (alirocumab), in Europe, there is a good chance that it will be first-to-market with its PSCK9 drug in the US.
Things definitely have changed a lot and progressed since Chris Viebacher left in October of last year.