Sanofi has announced plans to change the organizational structure of two of its global business units (GBUs) to provide greater focus on its operations in mature markets and emerging markets.

The company says it will create a new Primary Care GBU that combines the product portfolios of Sanofi’s existing Diabetes and Cardiovascular (DCV) GBU with Established Products, which are currently part of the General Medicines & Emerging Markets (GEM) GBU. The new Primary Care unit will focus exclusively on mature markets.

To help build and lead the new Primary Care business, Sanofi is appointing Dieter Weinand as Executive Vice President, effective November 1, 2018. Weinand will report directly to Sanofi CEO Dr. Olivier Brandicourt and become a member of the Executive Committee. He will be based in Bridgewater, New Jersey. Stefan Oelrich, currently head of the DCV GBU, has decided to leave Sanofi and will join Bayer as a member of the Board of Management and head of the Pharmaceuticals division, replacing Weinand, effective November 1. Bayer reports that Weinand is leaving Bayer for family reasons.

Sanofi is also creating a second new global business unit called China & Emerging Markets to be led by Olivier Charmeil, currently head of the GEM GBU. This newly formed business will focus on the characteristics and growth opportunities in emerging markets, particularly in China, which is Sanofi’s second largest market after the US. Charmeil will continue to be a member of the Executive Committee reporting directly to Dr. Brandicourt.

Sanofi expects to launch the new Primary Care and China & Emerging Markets GBUs by the beginning of 2019. Sanofi’s other GBUs—Sanofi Genzyme, Sanofi Pasteur, and Consumer Healthcare—remain unchanged.

Source: Sanofi and Bayer