Sanofi announces executive committee reshuffle

Sanofi has announced a number of changes to its executive committee, as part of its 2020 Strategic Roadmap.

Olivier Charmeil will become executive vice-president and general manager for general medicines and emerging markets, while Peter Guenter becomes executive vice-president and general manager for diabetes and cardiovascular.

Meanwhile, David Loew has been named as executive vice-president and general manager of the Sanofi Pasteur vaccines business.

Former diabetes and cardiovascular head Pascale Witz will be leaving the company, while Merial executive vice-president Carsten Hellmann is departing to become the chief executive of ALK, and external affairs boss Suresh Kumar will be returning to the US for personal reasons.

These announcements coincide with the news that Sanofi is stepping up its efforts to acquire Medivation by filing a consent solicitation to remove and replace the company's board.

Dr Olivier Brandicourt, Sanofi's chief executive officer, said the aim of this process is to "elect directors who are more open to supporting the best interests of Medivation shareholders regarding a potential transaction".