Sanofi names designated Ebola response coordinator

Sanofi has announced that Dr Gary Nabel, the company's chief scientific officer, has been selected as its designated Ebola response coordinator.

Reacting to the ongoing outbreak of the disease in west Africa, the firm has tasked Dr Nabel with identifying how Sanofi can help advance countermeasures to contain the epidemic, while prioritising and fostering opportunities to develop novel treatments for the future.

Dr Nabel is a former director of the US National Institutes of Health Vaccine Research Center and helped to develop an Ebola vaccine during his time with the organisation.

He is now working with other organisations and providing guidance to researchers, based on the company's extensive experience in vaccine and drug development, to help ensure the most effective response to this global challenge.

Dr Elias Zerhouni, president of global research and development at Sanofi, said: "Given his past experience in public health epidemics … Dr Nabel is uniquely qualified for this position."

Numerous pharmaceutical companies are taking extraordinary measures to tackle the current Ebola crisis, which is the most widespread and deadly outbreak of the disease in recorded history.