Sanofi Pasteur appoints new senior vice-president

Sanofi Pasteur is to see Olivier Charmeil become its new senior vice-president at the beginning of next year.

The vaccines specialist's parent company Sanofi-aventis has selected Mr Charmeil, who has been employed by the group since 1994, as the replacement for the retiring Wayne Pisano.

Mr Charmeil currently holds the position of senior vice-president for global operations in Asia-Pacific and Japan. In his new role he will be reporting directly to Christopher Viehbacher, chief executive officer of Sanofi-aventis.

He will take up the position on January 1st 2011, while Mr Pisano's retirement will take effect the following month.

Mr Viehbacher expressed confidence in Mr Charmeil's experience and track record, adding: "I would like to thank Wayne for his achievements in developing the vaccines growth platform and his dedication to the company over the past 14 years."

Last month, Sanofi Pasteur became the first pharmaceuticals firm ever to successfully advance a dengue fever vaccine to the phase III development stage.