Christopher Viehbacher, Sanofi’s CEO, has been selected by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) as its new president elect.

He will replace the outgoing Sir Andrew Witty in June 2013 and serve a two-year term.

Mr Viehbacher said he was “extremely honoured” by the designation which comes during the “midst of a crisis” in Europe.

The trade body’s new president has served as CEO of Sanofi since 2008 and also chairman of Genzyme since it was acquired by the French pharmaceutical company in 2011. He also served in a similar role as chair of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) between December 2010 and April 2012.

“There’s a virtuous economic cycle of investing in education and then research and innovation,” said Mr Viehbacher. “The challenge Europe is currently facing is about managing to reduce government deficits and debt without smothering the opportunity for growth; to make sure that relevant pro-growth, pro-innovation strategies can be activated.”

Richard Bergström, EFPIA’s Director General, said the new president is “well placed” to take over the leadership of the group. “At this time, it is important to remind ourselves and others what is needed to sustain research based pharmaceuticals in Europe,” he said. “Chris was involved in the high-level group G10 Medicines and has shown his ability to engage with policy-makers world-wide. I look forward to working with him.”

Sanofi and Bristol-Myers Squibb have been awarded more than $442 million in damages after Apotex was found to have infringed the patent rights on blockbuster drug Plavix (clopidogrel bisulphate).

The payment follows the decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in October 2011 and ends a ten-year legal dispute between the companies.

French-based Sanofi, who will receive $270m of the settlement, and BMS say they are both “pleased” that their rights have been upheld and that Apotex has made a “reparation” of the harm it caused by the launch of the “at-risk” generic.

The two were also awarded $1.2 million in post-judgement interest and $900,000 in costs in addition to the damages award.

The settlement ends the final phase of patent litigation between Sanofi, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Apotex which dates back to March 2002. Canadian-based Apotex launched a cheaper generic version of Plavix in 2006 whilst the legal challenge to the patent was being decided in court.

Chris Viehbacher, CEO, Sanofi, says the ruling shows it “pays to defend your intellectual property”.

Plavix – which will become the world’s best-selling drug when Pfizer’s Lipitor loses its remaining patent protection – generated €7bn in sales last year. However, it will be exposed to generic competition when its own patent expires in the US in May 2012.

Mr Viehbacher said the company was considering its plans in the coming months for the loss of revenue on the blood-thinning drug. Protection has already been lost in Europe, but Sanofi will maintain exclusivity in Japan until 2015.

French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi is looking to its drug pipeline, including products from the newly-acquired Genzyme business, to ensure the company’s growth in a year when patent expiries are forecast to cut its profits by 15%.

Sanofi CEO Chris Viehbacher reviews the company’s achievements in 2011 and its prospects for 2012 and beyond.

To read the full story, click here.

French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi is looking to its drug pipeline, including products from the recently-acquired Genzyme business, to ensure the company’s growth in a year when patent expiries are forecast to cut its profits by 15%.

Sanofi CEO Chris Viehbacher (pictured) said that 2012 had been “marked in red” in his personal diary as the year when cardiovascular drugs Plavix and Avapro would fall over the patent cliff.

Sanofi has filed five new drugs for regulatory approval in the US and Europe in the last seven months, which Viehbacher claimed was “a record for the industry”.

The company plans to launch 18 new drugs by the end of 2015 – and moving forward, to adopt an ‘open innovation’ approach to R&D through partnership with biotech companies and academic organisations.

The acquisition of biotech company Genzyme for $20.1bn in April 2011, which increased Sanofi’s costs for the year by 5.6%, promises to deliver a range of new therapies for rare diseases.

Viehbacher said that Genzyme’s new treatment for relapsing MS, Lemtrada, was a potential market-leading product, with its filing for US and EU regulatory approval expected in the second quarter of 2012.

In 2012, generic competition on blood-thinning drug Plavix and hypertension drug Avapro in the US is expected to cost Sanofi $1.86bn profit, up to 15% of its global total.

“2012 has been marked red in my diary for years,” Viehbacher commented. “We cannot compensate for that in one year but we can compensate over time. As we come out of the cliff, Sanofi is extremely well positioned for growth.”

Sanofi’s fourth-quarter profit in 2011 rose by 13%, due to the Genzyme acquisition and an 18% increase in sales of its Lantus insulin, which exceeded $1bn in quarterly sales for the first time.

The FDA’s recent approval of a new manufacturing facility in Framingham, Massachusetts, will enable Genzyme to resolve problems with production of two rare-disease medicines.

Sanofi has identified growth prospects in six ‘platform’ areas where products are less vulnerable to patent expiry: vaccines, diabetes care, biological therapies for rare diseases, emerging markets, consumer healthcare and veterinary medicine.

A new formulation of the long-acting insulin Lantus, Sanofi’s biggest-selling drug, is currently going through a phase III clinical trial programme.

“2011 was a key year in transforming Sanofi,” Viehbacher said. “We successfully acquired and integrated Genzyme, our growth platforms recorded double-digit growth, we delivered cost savings as planned and submitted filings to regulatory authorities for five new products.

“Beyond the remaining patent cliff in 2012, the robust performance of our diversified growth platforms, the reduced exposure to future patent expiries and progress on R&D position Sanofi for a period of sustainable growth.”

To see Chris Viehbacher discussing Sanofi’s 2011 performance and prospects for 2012 and beyond, click here

Sanofi Pasteur has invested $300 million in plans to open a new vaccine manufacturing plant in India by March 2012.

The new plant aims to help expand the company’s vaccine capabilities, following the acquisition of India’s Shantha Biotech for $784 million in 2009.

However, the deal carried manufacturing defects forced by the WHO to cancel pre-qualification of the vaccine Shan5, costing Sanofi hundreds of millions of dollars.

But Chris Viehbacher, CEO of Sanofi, said to the Business Standard: “We have implemented all the corrective measures. And we are quite positive about the relationship with Shantha and will be participating in global tenders once the pre-qualification process is completed for low-cost and high-quality vaccines.”

By 2015, Sanofi expects 30% of its total sales to come from the US, 33% from Europe and the rest from emerging markets.