Sanofi ousts CEO Viehbacher, despite recent denials

Just a day after French pharma major Sanofi (Euronext: SAN) denied that the future of its chief executive was under discussion, at a board meeting convened at 8am this morning it decided unanimously to remove Christopher Viehbacher (pictured) as chief executive of the company, after six years in the post. As a consequence, Mr Viehbacher resigned as a director of Sanofi.

The decision comes just a day after Sanofi posted third-quarter results that, while positive overall, warned of a forthcoming downturn in the company’s important diabetes franchise. There has been some speculation about Mr Viehbacher for some time, ever since he announced his decision in the summer to move to Boston. USA, where the Genzyme subsidiary is based. There have also been rumors of a rift between him and Sanofi chairman Serge Weinberg.

Shares of Sanofi, already down yesterday following its results announcement, declined a further 3.9% to 71.59 euros this morning.