Sanofi Revival Depends on Outsider With a Nose for Big Drugs

French pharma giant Sanofi is counting on Paul Hudson, a British citizen with a background in sales, rather than science, to revive its slumping stock price and a pipeline that’s been slow to deliver.

Hudson, whose almost 30-year career in the industry includes senior positions in Spain, Japan and Switzerland, relishes the outsider role. When he takes over from Olivier Brandicourt in Paris this week, he will be among the few non-French executives at the helm of a major corporation in the country.