Can New CEO Belen Garijo Reignite Sanofi's R&D Engine?

Sanofi has turned to one of Europe's most prominent pharmaceutical leaders to reset its course. Belén Garijo, currently CEO of Merck KGaA, will become CEO of the French drugmaker in April, marking the first time a woman has led the company.

The pharma company confirmed the leadership change in a company statement, saying its Board of Directors "decided not to renew the Director mandate of Paul Hudson", adding that his "last day as Chief Executive Officer will be on February 17, 2026 at the end of business".

The move ends a six-year tenure defined by sweeping restructuring and heavy investment in research and development, but also by clinical setbacks and mounting investor frustration.

Shares have fallen as investors are concerned about how Sanofi will cope when its best-selling drug Dupixent, which brings in more than a third of sales, loses patent protection in the early 2030s.

Announcing the leadership change, Chair Frédéric Oudéa signalled a sharper focus on execution. He said Belén has the "experience and profile to accelerate the pace, strengthen the quality of execution of strategy and lead the next growth cycle of the company".

Sanofi added that she would bring "increased rigour" to implementing strategy and would prioritise productivity, governance and innovation capacity in R&D.

A return to familiar ground

Belén is no stranger to Sanofi. As a trained medical doctor, she spent 15 years at the company earlier in her career, serving as Vice President of Pharmaceutical Operations for Europe and Canada and sitting on its executive committee.

She later joined Merck in 2011 and became its CEO in 2021, becoming the first woman to lead DAX40 company in Germany.

On the eve of her appointment, Belén reflected publicly on the arc of her career. Writing on LinkedIn on International Day of Women and Girls in Science, she underscored the continuity of her ambition.

"My earliest memories as a young girl are of wanting to help people and treat disease," she wrote. "That purpose has been the constant threat running through every chapter of my life - from medical student, to physician, to pharma executive, to global CEO."

She added, referring to an image she included in the post of her as a child: "Looking back at this photo of me as a little girl, book in hand, I realise that the biggest change over the years hasn't been my dream. It's been the scale of my impact.

"I've gone from caring from individual patients, to leading a company that touched the lives of more than 100 million people every single day."

A defining test 

That sense of scale now defines the task ahead of her at Sanofi. The group is set at a pivotal moment: it says it has narrowed its focus to fewer therapeutic areas, invested heavily in R&D and repositioned itself as an AI-powered biopharma company. But investors remain unconvinced that strategy has yet translated into a steady flow of successful late-stage medicines.

Belén's priority, according to the company, will be to strengthen the productivity, governance and innovation capacity of research and development. That signals a shift from bold strategic repositioning towards disciplined execution - ensuring that scientific ambition delivers measurable results.

Her experience integrating acquisitions, operating across Europe and the US and leading a major listed pharmaceutical group will now be tested in a different context: restoring growth momentum at one of Europe's largest drugmakers.