French healthcare and pharma company Sanofi will terminate an undisclosed number of positions in its U.S. vaccines commercial unit in an effort to streamline the strategic sales structure.
Sanofi has launched a sweeping restructuring initiative in its U.S. vaccines commercial operations, which will include an undisclosed number of layoffs, according to reporting by Endpoints News on Thursday.
“We are continuously adapting to the evolving U.S. vaccines market to better support our customers and patients. These changes are aimed at optimizing our commercial structure for greater efficiency and effectiveness,” a company spokesperson told Endpoints.
Though the spokesperson declined to provide details about the operations overhaul, including its timeline, scope and the number of employees that will be terminated, they said that the changes are part of Sanofi’s push to implement “a streamlined strategic sales structure.”
Sanofi has other openings within the company and the affected employees will have “opportunities to apply for the new positions,” according to the spokesperson.
This latest round of layoffs comes after Sanofi announced last week that it would divest Amunix Pharmaceuticals, an immuno-oncology company. The move will eliminate 100 jobs from a San Francisco site, which will take effect on June 3, 2024. Sanofi acquired Amunix for $1 billion in December 2021.
Earlier this month, Sanofi also announced a full pipeline reprioritization initiative, which would likewise involve the termination of an unspecified number of jobs.
The restructuring is part of CEO Paul Hudson’s efforts to win back investor confidence after the pharma in October 2023 dropped its previously announced 32% operating profit margin target for 2025. At the time, Sanofi said the decision was made to “focus on long-term profitability.” Investors were not convinced. The news sent the pharma’s shares plummeting 15% and wiped around $21 billion off its market value.
In December 2023, under mounting pressure to recapture the market’s favor, Sanofi held an R&D event for investors where it touted 12 pipeline assets that could reach blockbuster status in the coming years.
Nine of these investigational drugs are under its innovative medicines and vaccines unit, each of which has the potential to hit peak sales of $2.15 billion to $5.4 billion, according to Sanofi. These include its multiple sclerosis hopeful tolebrutinib and its asthma assets rilzabrutinib and lunsekimig, as well as developmental vaccines for respiratory syncyrial virus, acne and extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli.
In addition to its potential blockbusters, Sanofi revealed a campaign to increase its pipeline momentum with the goal of 50% growth in Phase III trials between 2023 and 2025. The company is also targeting almost 20 regulatory filings and 25 mid- to late-stage readouts in the next two years.
Tristan Manalac is an independent science writer based in Metro Manila, Philippines. Reach out to him on LinkedIn or email him at tristan@tristanmanalac.com or tristan.manalac@biospace.com.
