French drugmaker Sanofi ousted CEO Paul Hudson on Thursday, ending a six-year tenure marked by a stalled drive to replace blockbuster drugs going off patent and rising pressure from U.S. anti-vaccine policy and rhetoric.
The company said it had appointed Belén Garijo, the head of German drugmaker Merck KGaA, as the new chief executive. The 65-year-old Spanish executive will take over in late April and would be Sanofi’s first female CEO.
Sanofi shares fell some 3.5% on Thursday, with some analysts pointing to Garijo’s relatively low profile and mixed record at Merck. Brokerage Jefferies said in a note that she wasn’t “on many shortlists as potential successor.”
“She has shown cost discipline at Merck, which is positive. However… she needs to improve her R&D track record,” said Markus Manns, portfolio manager at Sanofi investor Union Investment, adding this was key for Garijo’s future employer.
“The CEO change at Sanofi is a sign that the R&D transformation has failed or is happening too slowly.”
Hudson, 58, who was pushed out only two months before his tenure was up for renewal, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. He had admitted on a call with analysts late last month that his plans had not moved as quickly as anticipated.
HUDSON LATEST PHARMA CEO TO EXIT
His departure marks the latest in a recent string of European pharmaceutical CEO exits after new leadership at UK-based GSK in January and Danish weight-loss drugmaker Novo Nordisk last August.
Sanofi, among the world’s largest vaccine makers, released a string of underwhelming trial updates in 2025, which cast a shadow over the company and helped drive its shares down around 25% over the past year, lagging Europe’s STOXX pharmaceutical index.
Hudson had also pursued bolt-on acquisitions in search of new medicines to help drive growth once its blockbuster asthma drug Dupixent loses key patents in the early 2030s. The lack of a successor to Dupixent, also used to treat eczema, heaped on the pressure.
“The market had been discussing a potential change as Paul Hudson’s contract was up for renewal in April,” Berenberg analyst Luisa Hector said, adding he had made positive changes in his six years though fell short on drug development.
“The final component of R&D fix is still work in progress.”
