Sanofi appoints ‘chief patient officer’

Sanofi has become the first major pharma company to appoint a chief patient officer to lead engagement with the people using its medicines.

Dr Anne Beal – a paediatrician and public health specialist - has strong experience in the field, joining Sanofi from the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) in the US, where she was deputy executive director and chief officer for engagement.

In this role Dr Beal's responsibilities included ensuring that the voice of the patient was heard in the research portfolio of PCORI – a research institute focused on patient-centred outcomes research.

The appointment reflects a tide in the industry towards a more patient-centric business model that takes into account the needs and wants of a patient at each step of the process when bringing new medicines to market.

Smaller firms, such as UCB, have already embraced this model with the appointment of a chief patient officer, but Sanofi is the first top 10 company to create such a role.

The company explained that Dr Beal will be tasked with elevating the 'perspective of the patient within Sanofi so the company's future healthcare offerings can better incorporate the unique priorities and needs of patients and caregivers in a variety of Sanofi activities'.

Sanofi's executive VP, global divisions and strategic development, Pascale Witz, added: “Interactions with patients are a source of strength for the company and Dr Beal's appointment will help ensure the patient perspective advances our approach to meeting the unmet needs of patients.”

Prior to joining the PCORI Dr Beal was president of the Aetna Foundation, the independent philanthropic arm of private health insurance firm Aetna.