Sanofi names VC leader Houman Ashrafian as R&D chief

Sanofi has made an interesting choice for its new head of R&D, turning to Houman Ashrafian, who has deep expertise in the biopharma industry, but can also draw on his most recent role as managing partner of private equity group SV Health Investors.

Ashrafian has been brought in to replace John Reed – who left Sanofi earlier this year after five years in the role to join Johnson & Johnson – and he will take up the new position on 11th September.

Sanofi's chief executive, Paul Hudson, said that Ashrafian "brings a wealth of expertise as a scientist and in bringing high-value transformational medicines from discovery to market," alluding to a long career in biopharma that has included founding roles in Alchemab Therapeutics, Dualitas, Enara Bio, Mestag Therapeutics, Sitryx, and Trex Bio.

A cardiologist by training, Ashrafian was also previously head of the clinical science group at Belgian drugmaker UCB and has sat on the boards of Imbria, Prilenia, and Therini Bio.

He said that at Sanofi he will work towards creating "a single, unified R&D organisation with hubs in France/EU & US and sites across the world."

Ashrafian will inherit responsibility for a pipeline with almost 80 programmes in clinical development and 27 readouts for early- and mid-stage molecules over the next year, which has been expanded into immunology and cancer under Hudson as the company retreated from an earlier focus on insulins and diabetes.

"I am extremely excited to join a company with such an extraordinary and diverse multicultural heritage and an experienced team of drug hunters at such an important inflection point in Sanofi's ability to generate outsized value for patients," commented Ashrafian.

His appointment comes alongside a number of other changes to the French drugmaker's executive team.

Head of internal audit and risk management Madeleine Roach has been elevated to the new role of head of business operations, tasked with driving business growth, and will start her new position on 1st October.

Emmanuel Frenehard has been appointed chief digital officer, effective immediately, from a previous position of global head of digital. Previously the chief digital officer role was held by former chief medical officer Ameet Nathwani, who left the company shortly after Hudson took over in 2019 to be replaced by Dietmar Berger.

Meanwhile, head of the specialty care unit Bill Sibold will be leaving Sanofi to pursue an external opportunity, to be replaced on an interim basis by Brian Foard, who is currently head of specialty care North America and US country lead.