"I don't want Sanofi-Aventis to be bigger in people and sites," he told the
Financial Times. "Size is an issue ... that led to lower productivity."
Sanofi will aim instead for what he considered small and medium-sized
bites up to €15 billion ($19 billion) to augment its vaccine and generics
business, especially in emerging markets, Vierbacher said. Large deals
such as Pfizer Inc.'s $68 billion takeover of Wyeth were not Sanofi's "area
of focus" at the moment, he said, though he made sure to issue a
never-say-never disclaimer.
He told
The Wall Street Journal that he'd eventually like half of Sanofi's pipeline to come from the outside, up from 10% today.
Vierbacher took over at Sanofi late last year after he failed to win
the top job at GlaxoSmithKline plc. Sanofi posted a 76% drop in
fourth-quarter net income. Excluding charges for two failed drug
development programs and a patent settlement, the firm posted an
adjusted net gain of 14%. Adjusted net income for the year was up 3.2%
to €7.2 billion.
- Alex Lash
French drug firm Sanofi-Aventis SA probably won't make a massive acquisition to boost its flagging product pipeline, CEO Chris Vierbacher said Wednesday as the company released year-end earnings.
