Sanofi CEO Viehbacher Sees Return to Growth This Quarter

Sanofi Chief Executive Officer Chris Viehbacher said the French drugmaker will return to earnings growth in the fourth quarter after the loss of patent protection on nine drugs in the past three years eroded profit.

“We’ve just come through the deepest and most concentrated patent cliffs in the industry,” Viehbacher said in a Bloomberg Television interview today at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Bali, Indonesia. “Our view is that particularly in the 4Q, the company returns to growth for the next period.” He didn’t say whether it was for profit or sales.