INTERVIEW: Unravelling The Strategies Behind Sanofi's China Surge

28 Mar 2016

The figures are screaming for attention. While many multinationals are grappling with lower single-digit growth in China, Sanofi logged a 20% increase last year, despite the country’s overall economic downturn. The figure was testament to the French group’s creative approaches to county-level opportunities and integrated disease management in a market filled with complexities and uncertainties. Sanofi Pharma China GM Jean-Christophe Pointeau shares some of the secrets in an exclusive interview.

SHANGHAI - When French pharma firm Sanofi set up a primary care unit devoted to grassroots medical facilities in China, its multinational peers had had scant success in this market segment. The reasons were obvious: long traveling times and distances between hospitals, low sales productivity, and a lack of training in diagnosis and treatment among physicians.

Viewing market access as a vital component of growing in China, Sanofi started investing heavily in a bet on China's...