– Former Director of the NIH Vaccine Research Center to Spearhead Sanofi Efforts, and Contribution to Global Fight against Ebola –
As part of its contribution to the global response to the Ebola epidemic, Sanofi announced today that it has appointed Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Gary J. Nabel, M.D., Ph.D., as its Ebola response coordinator.
In his mission, Dr. Nabel will:
- Identify how Sanofi can help advance countermeasures to contain the current outbreak
- Prioritize and foster opportunities to develop novel treatments for the futureTo date, Sanofi’s humanitarian contributions toward this effort have included:
- “Given his past experience in public health epidemics as Director of the NIH Vaccine Research Center and his leadership in developing an Ebola vaccine at NIH, Dr. Nabel is uniquely qualified for this position,” said Dr. Elias Zerhouni, M.D., President of Sanofi Global R&D. “Dr. Nabel is working with other organizations, including providing guidance to researchers based on the company’s extensive experience in vaccine and drug development, to determine how Sanofi can assist in making progress with this global challenge.”
- Supporting key humanitarian organizations including:
- MAP International’s Ebola Relief Response
- Heart to Heart International’s Emergency Intervention Program to Manage Ebola Viruses Disease (EVD) Cases in Liberia
- CDC Foundation’s Global Disaster Response Fund
- The French Red Cross’s READY Fund
- Volunteer work with “Stop Hunger Now” to deliver 20,000 meals to Liberia
- About Ebola
- As of Nov. 2, 2014, a total of 13,042 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) and 4,818 deaths have been reported in eight countries. This includes four cases and one death in the United States.2 References2. Ebola Response Roadmap Situation Report. World Health Organization. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/137510/1/roadmapsitrep_5Nov14_eng.pdf?ua=1. Accessed Nov. 7, 2014.Sanofi, a global healthcare leader, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions focused on patients’ needs. Sanofi has core strengths in the field of healthcare with seven growth platforms: diabetes solutions, human vaccines, innovative drugs, consumer healthcare, emerging markets, animal health and the new Genzyme. Sanofi is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: SAN) and in New York (NYSE: SNY).
- About Sanofi
- 1. Ebola Virus Disease Fact Sheet. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/. Accessed Nov. 7, 2014
- As yet, no licensed treatment is proven to neutralize the virus but a range of blood, immunological and drug therapies are under development. There are currently no licensed Ebola vaccines, but two potential candidates are undergoing evaluation.1
- Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans. The virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission. The average EVD case fatality rate is around 50 percent. Case fatality rates have varied from 25 percent to 90 percent in past outbreaks.1
- “Working with our colleagues across the industry, Sanofi is helping to find ways to advance medicines to prevent or treat Ebola virus infection. We are also sharing our scientific, medical, regulatory, and manufacturing expertise with the World Health Organization, government and non-governmental organizations – public and private – in an effort to contain this epidemic,” Dr. Nabel said.