Sanofi names ex-Roche exec Fontoura as R&D chief.

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  "detected_at": "2026-06-22T00:00:00+00:00",
  "company": {
    "name": "Sanofi",
    "domain": "sanofi.com"
  },
  "data": {
    "url": "https://pharmaphorum.com/news/sanofi-names-ex-roche-exec-fontoura-rd-chief",
    "title": "Sanofi names ex-Roche exec Fontoura as R&D chief.",
    "ticker": "OTC:SNYNF",
    "contact": "Houman Ashrafian",
    "excerpt": "Sanofi names ex-Roche exec Fontoura as R&D chief.\n\nPaulo Fontoura, currently chief medical officer of Xaira Therapeutics, will replace Houman Ashrafian as Sanofi's R&D head on 1st September.\n\nThe R&D baton at Sanofi will soon be handed over, as the company's global head of R&D, Houman Ashrafian, departs to take up an as-yet undisclosed opportunity outside the company.\n\nHe is being replaced by Paulo Fontoura, who spent 16 years at Roche, rising to the position of global head of clinical development for neuroscience, immunology, ophthalmology, infectious and rare diseases, and is currently chief medical officer at virtual cell model developer Xaira Therapeutics, whilst still holding an academic position at Nova Medical School in Portugal, where he gained his medical degree.\n\nThe handover is due to take place on 1st September, and continues a change in leadership at Sanofi that saw chief executive Paul Hudson replaced by former Merck KGaA CEO Belén Garijo.\n\nThe shakeup in Sanofi's senior management reportedly followed a big increase in R&D spending by the French pharma group that was accompanied by some late-stage failures that blew some holes in its product pipeline.\n\nThat included an FDA rejection for oral BTK inhibitor tolebrutinib in multiple sclerosis - although, it has since been recommended for approval in the EU - along with less-than-stellar data for chronic obstructive...",
    "summary": "Houman Ashrafian will leave Sanofi as global head of R&D on Sep 1st '26.",
    "planning": false,
    "image_url": "https://pharmaphorum.com/sites/default/files/2026-06/Paulo_Fontoura_Xaira_Tx_960x540.jpg",
    "job_title": "global head of R&D",
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    "published_at": "2026-06-22T00:00:00Z",
    "effective_date": "2026-09-01",
    "job_title_tags": [
      "management"
    ],
    "article_sentence": "The R&D baton at Sanofi will soon be handed over, as the company's global head of R&D, Houman Ashrafian, departs to take up an as-yet undisclosed opportunity outside the company."
  }
}

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