FACTBOX-Who is Sanofi's new CEO Belén Garijo?

French drugmaker Sanofi on Thursday appointed Belén Garijo ​as its new chief executive after choosing ​not to renew the mandate ‌of ​Paul Hudson.

French drugmaker Sanofi on Thursday appointed Belén Garijo ​as its new chief executive after choosing ​not to renew the mandate ‌of ​Paul Hudson. The move underscores rising pressure from U.S. vaccine headwinds and a stalled turnaround since he took the reins in 2019.

What ‌do we know about Garijo? * Garijo, 65, worked for 15 years at Sanofi, where she was vice president of pharmaceutical operations for Europe and Canada and a member of the executive ‌committee, the company said.

* Her work included the integration of Sanofi's rare diseases Genzyme unit ‌in the United States. * Garijo had been promoted in 2021 from head of pharma unit at German maker of pharmaceuticals and specialty materials Merck KGaA to CEO of the group.

* As Merck KGaA CEO, she ⁠has ​overseen turbulent markets buffeted ⁠by the COVID-19 pandemic, and strategic acquisitions such as SpringWorks Therapeutics and portfolio divestitures. * Her contract with Merck ⁠is ending as planned. Her track record in the company's pharmaceuticals business is mixed. The German company ​itself suffered numerous setbacks in the development of new drugs during her tenure.

* Garijo ⁠was also a board member of French cosmetics giant L'Oreal between 2014 and 2024, and she currently sits on ⁠the ​board of Spanish lender BBVA * Garijo's experience is broad, yet not especially associated with R&D productivity improvements at large pharma, Berenberg analyst Luisa Hector said.

* "It is fair to ⁠say that Belen would not have been on many shortlists as potential successor given at ⁠Merck KGaA she arguably ⁠never reached the profile of prior executives there", Jefferies said in a note to clients. * Shares in Sanofi were down almost 3% ‌by around ‌08:45 GMT on Thursday