Sanofi names new head of research

Sanofi has announced the appointment of Dr Yong-Jun Liu as its new head of research, effective as of April 1st.

Dr Liu will take up the role within Sanofi's global research and development business and will be responsible for leading all of the company's research efforts, with the goal of delivering innovative and high-value medicines for patients.

Working in collaboration with the firm's senior leadership team, he will be tasked with building a competitive research and development organisation capable of leveraging internal and external expertise.

One of the world's most prolific researchers in immunology, Dr Liu has more than 94,000 citations and over 250 published articles to his name in leading journals such as Nature and Science.

Dr Olivier Brandicourt, chief executive officer at Sanofi, said: "I have great confidence that Yong-Jun will position Sanofi on the leading edge of scientific breakthroughs and drug discovery in the years ahead."

This comes after the firm appointed Muzammil Mansuri as its new executive vice-president for strategy and business development last month.