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Sanofi Calms France's Fears Over COVID-19 Vaccine Access

CEO Hudson Clarifies 'US First' Comments

 
• By Kevin Grogan

Paul Hudson has been at the helm of Sanofi for just nine months, but for the last few days his comments about which country will be first in line for the firm's coronavirus vaccines will have reminded him that the Gallic culture runs deep.

Paul Hudson
Paul Hudson has ruffled feathers in France

Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson has attempted to put out the firestorm in France caused by his suggestion that the US may get priority access to COVID-19 vaccines being developed by the Paris-headquartered pharma major.

Hudson, who took over at Sanofi in September last year, caused a furore earlier this week in an interview with Bloomberg, where he declared that the firm's longstanding funding from the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) meant the US would be first in the queue for a vaccine that gets approval. “The US government has the right to the largest pre-order because it’s invested in taking the risk,” he told the news agency, adding that the US expectation was “If we’ve helped you manufacture the doses at risk, we expect to get the doses first

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