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Updated Friday, November 4, 2011 0:17 am TWN, By Linda A. Johnson, AP

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Sanofi to reorganize US research operations, slash sales staff

TRENTON, New Jersey--French drugmaker Sanofi SA said Wednesday that it is reorganizing research operations in the U.S. and planning to trim its sales force for the second time in barely a year as it aims to boost efficiency.

The sales job cuts, which are to start with voluntary buyout offers, are due to generic competition eroding sales of some existing drugs and other drugs faring poorly in testing for some uses, which limits sales potential.

The research reorganization is part of CEO Chris Viehbacher's long-term plan to restructure early drug testing and later-stage patient testing around hubs in different countries, including France and Germany.

Company employees were notified at meetings Wednesday morning. A company spokesman said Sanofi, the world's fourth-largest drugmaker by revenue, is still deciding how many jobs will be eliminated. He said research workers will get details about how they'll be affected in January and sales staff will in December.

“Both initiatives are part of Sanofi's three-pronged strategy of increasing innovation in research and development, pursuing external growth opportunities and adapting the organization for future challenges and opportunity,” Sanofi said in a statement.

In afternoon trading, Sanofi's U.S.-listed shares added 27 U.S. cents to US$34.28.

Paris-based Sanofi, the maker of blockbuster blood thinner Plavix, will be shifting some research jobs from central New Jersey to its new hub for early-stage drug research in the Boston area. Sanofi already has sizable operations there, including about 5,000 employees.

An undetermined number of research jobs will be shifted to the Boston hub from one of Sanofi's two sites in Bridgewater, New Jersey. Sanofi has about 18,000 employees in North America.

The company will establish a new global services division for North America in Bridgewater. It will provide consolidated support functions such as finance, purchasing, legal and communications for Sanofi's five businesses in the U.S.: Sanofi (prescription drugs), Sanofi Pasteur (vaccines), Genzyme (biologic drugs), Chattem (consumer health products) and Merial (veterinary medicine).

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