Sanofi expands U.S. sales operations

Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Inc., New York, is reorganizing and expanding its field sales operations in preparation for the anticipated launch of new products from its research and development portfolio.

The company expects to add more than 250 sales reps and managers to its 400-member sales force by August.

New products

Sanofi believes it may receive U.S. marketing approval for four or more new pharmaceutical products over the next 18 months.

One product candidate, irbesartan, is an antihypertensive that Sanofi will copromote with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

Another candidate is Plavix® (clopidogrel), a product for preventing myocardial infarction, which also will be copromoted with Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Both products are front-runners in Sanofi's research and development pipeline of more than 30 compounds.

In addition, the company expects eminent approval for Skelid® (tiludronate) for Paget's disease and additional clearance by 1998 for osteoporosis. The company also has a promising oncology product, Zyrkamine® (mitoquazone) for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Reorganization

Sanofi Pharmaceuticals is comprised of the former Sanofi Winthrop Inc. and Bock Pharmacal Co., which Sanofi acquired in August 1996.

"One of the main reasons Sanofi purchased Bock was to gain a presence among office-based physicians," said John McCall, vice president of sales at Sanofi.

While Sanofi Winthrop sales representatives primarily called on hospitals, Bock salespeople made calls to primary care physicians and obstetrician/gynecologists.

The company has not had a significant presence in the United States, but expects to change that through the reorganization and expansion, McCall said.

Sanofi reorganized into three integrated sales forces covering primary care, oncology and hospitals.

The company also maintains the Health Business Management Group, which consists of its managed care salespeople.

The reorganization plan was developed through a "bottoms-up" approach, using significant input from field managers and the sales force, McCall said. "Having managers and representatives develop our plan helped us get 'buy-in' from the field." PR