Sanofi Shocker: CEO Paul Hudson Out As Board Demands 'Increased Rigor'

Sanofi SA (NASDAQ:SNY) on Wednesday decided not to renew the Director mandate of Paul Hudson.

As a result, Paul Hudson's last day as Chief Executive Officer will be on February 17, 2026, after his tenure of six years with the company.

Succession Plan And Governance Actions

The Board of Directors appointed Belén Garijo as Chief Executive Officer. She will take up her duties at the end of the Group’s Annual General Meeting on April 29, 2026. The Board will also propose to the shareholder vote the candidacy of Belén Garijo as a director of the Group.

Olivier Charmeil, Executive Vice President, General Medicines, will assume the role of Interim Chief Executive Officer during this transition.

Belén Garijo will bring an increased rigor to the implementation of Sanofi’s strategy and accelerate the preparation of the Group’s future. Her priority will be to strengthen the productivity, governance, and innovation capacity of Research & Development.

Belén Garijo joined Merck KGaA in 2011 and became its Chief Executive Officer in 2021, becoming the first woman to lead a DAX40 company in Germany.

External Pressure And Turnaround Challenges

Reuters noted that the abrupt transition, underscoring rising pressure on Sanofi from U.S. vaccine headwinds and a stalled turnaround since Hudson took the reins in 2019 to replace blockbuster drugs.

Reuters also highlighted that Hudson had been hired with a mandate to revive the company’s drug pipeline and share price, but has struggled to reduce Sanofi’s dependence on its star eczema treatment Dupixent, drawing pressure from investors.

Dupixent sales increased by 32.2% to 4.2 billion euros in the fourth quarter of 2025, a strong end to the year.

"We believe that we will not be able to mitigate the impact of the (loss of exclusivity) of Dupixent as far as sales are concerned. It's too big to be mitigated," Sanofi's CFO François-Xavier Roger told Reuters.

Vaccine Segment Performance Q4

Vaccine sales decreased by 2.5% to 2 billion euros from lower sales of Beyfortus and PPH, with influenza performing better than anticipated.

Beyfortus sales were 686 million euros, down 14.9%, and Influenza, COVID-19 vaccines sales were up 31.5% to 575 million euros.

Polio/Pertussis/Hib (PPH) primary and booster vaccines sales were down 9.5% to 551 million euros, mainly from fewer babies born in multiple countries, including China.

Pipeline Development And Future Therapy

Sanofi is developing amlitelimab, considered a potential successor to Dupixent.

The company said the data delivered a robust body of evidence that supports amlitelimab’s potential in the treatment of patients 12 years and older with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD).

SNY Price Action: Sanofi shares were down 6.25% at $46.17 during premarket trading on Thursday.

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