Following last year’s GlaxoSmithKline case, many foreign pharmaceutical companies have begun laying off medical representatives and ramping up recruitment of medical liaison officers. Sanofi has stated that its workforce of 5,000 medical representatives will remain unchanged, but their roles will evolve, with a greater emphasis on increasing the number and proportion of medical liaison officers.

　　Global pharmaceutical giant Sanofi recently released its 2014 financial results. The data show that the company’s full-year sales increased by 4.9% to €33.77 billion, with the fastest growth recorded in emerging markets, at 9.3%.

　　In the Chinese market, total sales amounted to €1.603 billion, up 8.8%, with prescription drug sales increasing by 12.4% in the fourth quarter.

　　On February 10, Long Xianli, Senior Vice President of Sanofi for Asia and President of Sanofi China, stated in an interview with the Daily Economic News that while the number of the company’s medical representatives will not be reduced, the number and proportion of medical liaison officers will be increased.

　　In addition, going forward, while continuing to ramp up investment in its existing business segments—such as diabetes care, vaccines, and animal health—the company will also leverage primary healthcare, generic drugs, and low-cost delivery models to steadily expand its presence in the Chinese market and broaden its reach.

　　The company stated that it aims to bring 18 drugs to market over the next six years. Among them, the long-acting insulin Toujeo is currently under review by the FDA, and Sanofi hopes to complete the review before generic versions are launched in 2015.

　　Notably, in October last year, Sanofi’s global CEO, Olivier Brandicourt, who had served for six years, was abruptly removed by the board of directors, marking the most startling personnel change of the past year. Today, the industry’s primary focus on Sanofi is on who will take the helm and steer the company forward in the wake of Brandicourt’s departure.

　　Following last year’s GlaxoSmithKline case, many foreign pharmaceutical companies have begun laying off medical representatives and ramping up recruitment of medical liaison officers. The reporter has noted that Sanofi’s operating model is also undergoing changes.

　　Earlier this year, the company launched the “SaiDong” initiative for its pharmaceutical representatives, shifting physician engagement to a cloud-based platform powered by iPads. According to Sanofi, this move is aimed at proactively adapting to market dynamics, enabling the company’s business operations team to analyze and disseminate scientific information more effectively, and enhancing the team’s professional expertise.

　　“The size of our 5,000-strong pharmaceutical sales force will remain unchanged, but its responsibilities will evolve,” said Long Xianli. “At the same time, we will increase the number of medical liaison officers, and the proportion of medical liaison officers within the team will continue to rise.”

　　In addition, as the first foreign pharmaceutical company to establish an independent business operations unit in China to spearhead marketing and promotion in the county-level healthcare market, Sanofi will continue to expand its presence in primary-care settings this year.

　　“Although Sanofi is currently the third-largest foreign-invested pharmaceutical company in China, it still only serves 30% of patients. We will continue to expand our market presence and increase our reach. We were the first company in China to establish a primary-care business unit, and other firms are now following this approach,” Long Xianli told a reporter from the Daily Economic News. “At present, we have established a footprint across 25 provinces and 1,200 counties and county-level districts, reaching 360,000 primary-care physicians. According to the data, this is precisely the segment where we are growing the fastest.”

　　According to Sanofi China’s strategy, market expansion and increased coverage are among its three core priorities. In addition to primary healthcare, this initiative encompasses the promotion of health pharmaceuticals, generic drugs, and low-cost delivery models. The other two strategic pillars are strengthening existing growth drivers—namely, diabetes care, vaccines, and animal health—and further ramping up innovation, including the R&D of biologics. (Daily Economic News)