Healthy China 2030 Strategy Brings More Opportunities for Sanofi: an Exclusive Interview with Olivier Brandicourt, CEO of Sanofi

People.cn, Beijing, March 21, 2017 – Mr. Olivier Brandicourt, CEO of Sanofi, gave an interview with People.cn on March 20 during his trip to Beijing for the China Development Forum. During the interview he discussed a number of topics, including the significance of the Healthy China Strategy for Sanofi, Sanofi’s future plans for innovating drugs and vaccines, and Sanofi’s organizational re-structuring.

Mr. Olivier Brandicourt, CEO of Sanofi Group, giving an interview. (Photo: People.cn/Zhao Jinghan)

Journalist: You’ve just attended the China Development Forum. What were your thoughts on the event? And what are your opinions of the Chinese market?

Olivier Brandicourt: The Chinese market is of great strategic importance to Sanofi. This year’s China Development Forum was held at the right time, when the Healthy China 2030 blueprint was just being published. It was a very important opportunity for all attending CEOs, including myself, to better understand the considerations and targets behind this vision. I’d like to firstly congratulate the Chinese government on such a broad and ambitious vision. At the same time, we must continue to further understand the content of the Healthy China 2030 strategic plan and the specifics of Article No. 13 [suggestions on improving the regulations on drug production and distribution], published by the State Council. It is particularly important that we also have a deeper understanding of what we can do with the Chinese government to implement the Healthy China 2030 program in this process.

As a leading healthcare company, the first thing we can do is to accelerate innovation. The second is disease prevention. Sanofi has a unique advantage in this realm with Sanofi Pasteur, our global vaccine business unit, which helps us to better contribute to disease prevention. The third is chronic disease management, with a special focus on high-incidence diseases in China and primary healthcare.

Journalist: The Chinese government recently announced its Healthy China 2030 blueprint. What opportunities will it create for Sanofi?

Olivier Brandicourt: The announcement of the Healthy China 2030 blueprint is of significant meaning and value. First and foremost, the Chinese government’s efforts to improve accessibility to drugs, particularly the availability of innovative drugs, will certainly accelerate the review and approval of new drugs.

Second, the Chinese government is committed to expanding medical insurance, and this will be a very important driving force behind the implementation of the Healthy China 2030 program. The government is willing to invest more resources and funds to further support the development of the healthcare industry. Today, 5.6-5.7 percent of China’s GDP is invested in healthcare, and according to this plan, that figure will rise to 7 percent by 2020. Among OECD countries, an average of 9 percent GDP is invested in the healthcare industry, and we believe China still has further room to rise.

Third, the Healthy China 2030 strategic plan will encourage more medical professionals to devote themselves to primary healthcare. Major academic research institutes and large medical centers will address the needs of primary healthcare as well, as manifested by the tiered medical system outlined in the strategy.

Journalist: Disease prevention is an important component of Healthy China 2030. Are there any new plans for Sanofi Pasteur in China?

Olivier Brandicourt: The vaccine products we launch in the Chinese market are usually among the first of their kind in the category, such as our influenza vaccine. We also brought the first vaccine against invasive infections due to Haemophilus influenza type B bacterium, as well as the inactivated poliomyelitis vaccine (IPV). Most recently we were the first to bring the Pentaxim pentavaccine for children, which covers five diseases in one vaccine. These are examples of our highly important contributions and active participation in China’s disease-prevention initiatives.

We can do more with regard to disease prevention, including with influenza vaccines, to benefit the larger population in a wider range of areas. We are actively discussing with relevant regulatory bodies in Beijing how to enable more healthcare professionals to be vaccinated, increase the rate of vaccinations for patients with chronic diseases, and further increase the influenza vaccination rate among children. IPV has been widely used across China and is listed in the national vaccination program across 22 provinces. Through effective prevention and vaccinations, we will continue to see a reduced number of infantile poliomyelitis cases in China, and we are confident they can be eradicated worldwide in the next five years. As the largest multinational vaccine company, we play an important role in the entire immunization ecosystem.

Journalist: Could you please share with us Sanofi’s approach to innovation? And what is the plan to launch new products in China? Will you continue to strengthen your local R&D capabilities?

Olivier Brandicourt: Sanofi has launched more than 40 innovative drugs in China over the past 35 years to help meet the health needs of a large number of Chinese patients. We provide dedicated products to treat seven of the top 10 fatal diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, tumors and more. By 2020, 11 products and indications will be launched in China, and five of six major products will be launched in China. In addition, we are working with local partners, for instance JHL Biotech [a biosimilar company], to research and develop innovative drugs specifically designed to meet China’s needs. In February 2017, we submitted to the CFDA for clinical trials of JHL1101 [a rituximab biosimilar] in treating non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Rituximab biosimilars will bring high-quality, affordable and innovative biotherapy to Chinese patients, and further improve treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in China.

In China, we are not solely conducting research on high-quality and affordable biotherapy, we are also carrying out clinical trials at our R&D headquarters in Shanghai and with our team in Beijing. Over the past five years, we have successfully carried out 48 clinical trials, including 13 international studies, involving more than 41,000 patients. In addition, we are collaborating with leading universities, local pharmaceutical companies and researchers and institutions on various projects. So far, we have developed more than 60 collaborations, with an open R&D model that allows us to carry out research together with our external partners.

Journalist: The Chinese government is attaching greater importance to chronic disease management. Does Sanofi have any plans in terms of chronic disease management?

Olivier Brandicourt: Chronic disease is a major pathogenic and lethal factor in emerging countries. There are 260 million patients with chronic diseases in China, and more than 85 percent of mortalities can be attributed to chronic diseases. Treatment and management of chronic diseases is heavily dependent on community healthcare centers. With our wide portfolio, including Lantus for the treatment of diabetes and Plavix for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, Sanofi believes we have the right knowledge and resources to help community healthcare centers in China to better prevent and manage chronic diseases.

In terms of action plans, we will: work with large academic institutions to educate community healthcare centers about disease diagnosis and treatment through training programs; help them to develop apps so patients can stay in contact with physicians digitally; and continue to help community healthcare centers screen chronic disease patients. We believe Sanofi will play a very important role in helping community healthcare centers to combat chronic disease.

To give one example, Sanofi launched the “China Healthy Community Program” in 2016, which has already covered 3,500 community healthcare centers in 19 major cities. In addition to disease screening, we are also contributing to disease management education in order to enhance awareness among patients through a series of educational programs. This includes TRIO (a clinical optimization and practice standardization management program for patients with basal insulin) to improve medication compliance among diabetes patients. Just like with cardiovascular diseases, patient compliance is crucial for treating diabetes in order to monitor blood glucose levels and avoid any complications. We are very proud of TRIO for its achievements in improving patient compliance.

Journalist: In your view, what’s the biggest challenge in the Chinese market and how does Sanofi cope with it?

Olivier Brandicourt: Article No. 13 [suggestions on further improving the regulations on drug production and distribution), published by the State Council, might be a challenge to Sanofi with regard to pricing, since drugs of all categories will be involved in the bidding process in the future. This kind of pricing challenge is across the world, not only in China. Price negotiations will happen once more drugs are added to the Chinese National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL) to improve accessibility. What’s important is finding a new balance when there are more patients, demanding a higher volume.

The second challenge is that healthcare policy in China is currently governed by provinces, which adds a certain level of diversity and complexity, including around pricing and medical insurance.

The third challenge is talent. China is a very dynamic market with fierce competition over talent. We highly value our employees and their career development, and we expect to attract the best. A large portion of our employees were born in the ‘80s and ‘90s, so it is a challenge to create a work environment where they feel fully satisfied. We need to do more to retain and develop talent so employees feel more focused and interested in their careers here. I think these are all challenges.

Journalist: We understand Sanofi has been making local and global adjustments on both internal structure and external strategy. Does this indicate new strategic planning?

Olivier Brandicourt: One of the important changes I have made since becoming Sanofi CEO is to do organizational re-structuring. Now we have established five global business units. All the supporting functions have become globalized and we have broken down geographic boundaries. This new global approach means that the person in charge of the HR department, or the finance department, has a truly global perspective. They know the current situation with regard to all relevant areas, all around the world. This is a new approach we have adopted. We are no longer focusing on geographic perspectives, but product perspectives.

The biggest challenge under the new structure is, in my opinion, culture. In the past, the country chair was responsible for all matters including business and supporting departments. He or she oversaw a pre-defined market segment – China, for example – and all people would report to him or her directly, a traditional hierarchical structure from top down, high to low. What I’m proposing is a matrix structure focusing on teamwork, both vertically and horizontally, instead of reporting from the bottom up. This type of new structure may bring large cultural challenges but will also put more emphasis on collaboration and team spirit.