The head of Sanofi’s diabetes and cardiovascular business Pascale Witz is to leave the company next week, when she will be replaced by Peter Guenter.
Witz (pictured) exits on June 1, having joined Sanofi in July 2013 as head of strategic development and subsequently appointed less than a year ago to lead the company’s newly-reconfigured diabetes and cardiovascular business.
In a statement Sanofi said: “Pascale has been a champion for driving a patient-focused, integrated-care approach to how Sanofi operates. She was instrumental in signing important strategic collaborations, including those with Verily Life Sciences (a subsidiary of Google) and Hanmi Pharmaceuticals.”
However, the unit she headed up has not had an easier time of late, as it looks to address declining sales from Sanofi’s blockbuster insulin Lantus.
Overall diabetes and cardiovascular sales fell 5.8% in the first quarter of this year to €1.5bn and diabetes sales were down 4.5% in that period.
Witz’s replacement, Peter Guenter, currently serves as executive vice president (EVP) of general medicines and emerging markets, having originally joined Sanofi at the same time at Witz.
Her departure was one of a number of executive changes Sanofi will make from June 1 in order to more closely align operations with its 2020 Strategic Roadmap plans – an aim of which is to sustain its position in diabetes and cardiovascular.
The changes will see Sanofi Pasteur EVP Olivier Charmeil move to EVP and general manager for general medicines and emerging markets, will David Loew will become Sanofi Pasteur executive VP and general manager and join the company’s executive committee.
Meanwhile, Carsten Hellmann, executive vice president of Sanofi’s animal health company Merial, is set to move to ALK as president and CEO, but has agreed to stay on until Sanofi’s asset swap with Boehringer Ingelheim is completed.
Suresh Kumar, executive vice president, external affairs, has decided to return to the US for personal reasons, but has agreed to continue to represent Sanofi’s interest in the US until the year-end. As an interim measure Sanofi’s CEO Olivier Brandicourt will serve as acting head of external affairs until a replacement is found.