SHANGHAI, March 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Sanofi announced that Pius S. Hornstein, PhD, has been appointed the new General Manager China, China & Emerging Markets Global Business Unit (GBU) of Sanofi and Country Chair of Sanofi China, effective today. Based in Shanghai, he reports directly to Olivier Charmeil, Executive Vice President of Sanofi, Head of China & Emerging Markets, and member of the Sanofi Executive Committee.
Jean-Christophe Pointeau, who held the role over the last four years and has successfully brought Sanofi China to its strong level today, has been appointed Europe Region Head, Sanofi Genzyme. Since January, Pointeau and Hornstein have been working together to ensure a smooth and successful transition given the importance of China to the Sanofi Group.
"China is the second largest affiliate of Sanofi, with a 12,7% sales growth in 2018. I firmly believe that Pius Hornstein will drive Sanofi China from great to greater, building on our longstanding presence in the country and accelerating our innovation path," said Olivier Charmeil. "On January 1, we have officially launched our Sanofi China & Emerging Markets Global Business Unit. It is focused on the unique characteristics and growth opportunities in emerging markets. Sanofi will leverage emerging markets as a key growth engine by further boosting its investment in these regions, especially in China."
"Leading the China affiliate is a great honor and responsibility, as it represents the second-largest market for Sanofi," said Hornstein. "With the rapid changes in the environment, my priority will be to bring innovation to the market faster and to focus on the development of our rich talent pool in China."
"We will continue to deliver on Sanofi's commitment of 'in China, for China,' adhere to the highest standard of ethics, and help Chinese patients and people to benefit from more innovative drugs and vaccines, as we contribute to the Healthy China 2030 initiative," he added. "We shall never stop pursuing growth and a greater leadership position. Together with all employees in China, I am confident and enthusiastic about driving our growth momentum and fostering Sanofi's position as one of the leading healthcare companies in China, building on our longstanding commitment, innovation and partnership approach."
Hornstein was the General Manager and Country Chair of Sanofi Brazil for the last four years. He joined Sanofi in 1998 as a product manager, and held a variety of key positions in marketing, sales management and other global strategic areas. He led the global team for the anticoagulant that is part of the World Health Organization list of essential medicines. He has a master's degree in pharmacy and a PhD degree in medical research from the University of Basel in Switzerland.
As one of the first multinational pharmaceutical companies to enter China, Sanofi is a leader in chronic disease management and vaccines, and a pioneer in rare diseases. Sanofi has introduced more than 40 high-quality innovative drugs and vaccine products to the China market, with its diversified therapies covering seven of China's top 10 life-threatening diseases. Sanofi China will remain committed to accelerating innovation, and is expected to launch 16 new products and indications in China by 2025.
About Sanofi
Sanofi is dedicated to supporting people through their health challenges. We are a global biopharmaceutical company focused on human health. We prevent illness with vaccines, provide innovative treatments to fight pain and ease suffering. We stand by the few who suffer from rare diseases and the millions with long-term chronic conditions.
With more than 100,000 people in 100 countries, Sanofi is transforming scientific innovation into healthcare solutions around the globe.
Sanofi, Empowering Life
About Sanofi China
In 1982, Sanofi opened its first office in China. Sanofi China has a diversified business that ranges from pharmaceuticals and human vaccines to consumer healthcare. Sanofi's China headquarters in Shanghai are supported by 11 offices in Beijing, Tianjin, Shenyang, Jinan, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Fuzhou and Urumqi. Sanofi has around 9,600 employees in China.
Sanofi has three manufacturing facilities in China to meet the increasing demand of the domestic market. These plants are located in Beijing, Hangzhou and Shenzhen.
Sanofi operates the China R&D Center and Asia Pacific R&D Hub in Shanghai, Global R&D Operations in Chengdu, and Global Research Institute in Suzhou. Sanofi's R&D focuses on unmet medical needs, such as oncology, immunology, and metabolic diseases in China and the rest of the world.
For more information, please visit www.sanofi.cn or subscribe to the Sanofi China official WeChat account: SanofiChina.
Sanofi Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements include projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives, intentions and expectations with respect to future financial results, events, operations, services, product development and potential, and statements regarding future performance. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "plans" and similar expressions. Although Sanofi's management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Sanofi, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, future clinical data and analysis, including post marketing, decisions by regulatory authorities, such as the FDA or the EMA, regarding whether and when to approve any drug, device or biological application that may be filed for any such product candidates as well as their decisions regarding labeling and other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of such product candidates, the absence of guarantee that the product candidates if approved will be commercially successful, the future approval and commercial success of therapeutic alternatives, the Group's ability to benefit from external growth opportunities, trends in exchange rates and prevailing interest rates, the impact of cost containment policies and subsequent changes thereto, the average number of shares outstanding as well as those discussed or identified in the public filings with the SEC and the AMF made by Sanofi, including those listed under "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in Sanofi's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2017. Other than as required by applicable law, Sanofi does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements.
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