Read the Conversation
Meeting Highlights:
- Sanofi’s Market Leadership & Mission: As one of the leading players in the industry, Sanofi is committed to improving vaccine coverage and saving millions of lives against vaccine-preventable diseases through collaboration, innovation, and new launches.
- Driving Innovation & Capability Building: By bringing knowledge, expertise, and cutting-edge tools, Sanofi is strengthening India’s healthcare ecosystem and reinforcing its position in the global market. With India emerging as a hub for Global Business Operations, the company is making significant investments to expand its capabilities.
- Strengthening Access Through Local Partnerships: Collaborations with domestic partners help bridge geographic and accessibility gaps, ensuring broader healthcare reach across India’s vast and diverse landscape. This underscores Sanofi’s commitment to delivering the right solutions to the right markets.
- AI-Powered Healthcare for a Growing Nation: Leveraging AI-driven efficiencies across the value chain, Sanofi is accelerating innovation and enhancing the delivery of high-quality, accessible healthcare for both India and the world.
- Message to the Industry: Health is wealth—addressing healthcare inequities and making innovation affordable should be a shared commitment among all industry partners. Sanofi leads by example, driving preventive healthcare through vaccines and pioneering new solutions, such as its RSV monoclonal antibody.
EF: In your new role, what mission have you set for yourself, and what will be your main priorities for this region in the coming years?
ZS: I am thrilled to be part of Sanofi’s Vaccines division in Southeast Asia, India, and neighboring markets. Sanofi is one of the leading vaccine manufacturers in this region, holding a dominant private market share in the portfolios where we operate. We have built a strong reputation as market leaders, supported by a wide portfolio of products that have been available for nearly 30 years, supporting life-course immunization from infancy to adulthood. In addition to our established portfolio, we are committed to accelerating innovation in this part of the world. Over the past years, Sanofi has introduced new vaccines into the market; we want to fast-track bringing these innovations into the region, starting with the launch of our RSV monoclonal antibody. Specifically, in India, we plan to introduce this immunization solution as early as mid-2025.
My key focus is to maximize the growth opportunities in this market. While vaccination coverage rates in this region remain relatively low, there is a growing awareness of health, well-being, and the value of immunization, especially post-COVID. This presents an exciting opportunity for us to enhance vaccine accessibility, affordability, and coverage across the region.
EF: How does India fit into your global strategy? What unique role does India play in shaping the company's impact on public health and global healthcare?
ZS: India is home to one-fifth of the global population and is experiencing remarkable growth in healthcare infrastructure, making it a highly dynamic and influential market.
We have seen an opportunity to maximize our impact through collaboration. Many strong local companies are emerging and developing state-of-the-art operations, facilities, and products that aim to match those of multinational corporations. At the same time, multinational companies like Sanofi bring immense value to India by introducing advanced capabilities, knowledge, and innovation that help accelerate growth in the healthcare sector. This creates an exciting landscape for healthcare innovation.
Our goal is to establish ourselves as a global leader in immunology. Countries with large economies and populations, like India, play a crucial role in our growth and investment strategy. Furthermore, we have a significant presence in India through our business operations hub in Hyderabad, which supports not just the Indian market but also many of our global markets. We are investing approximately €400 million over the next five years into this hub, with €100 million in 2025, strengthening its role in delivering key capabilities and driving innovation.
By 2030, this hub in Hyderabad will host up to 2,600 employees. It is a key ‘nerve center’ that enables centralization and modernization and allows for scaling-up opportunities across Sanofi’s value chain, offering a wide array of services ranging from commercial, manufacturing & supply to R&D and digital.
At the Hyderabad hub, we focus on attracting top talent to integrate AI across our value chain, accelerating scientific discovery, and improving productivity through advanced decision-making tools. This exemplifies India’s role for us—not just as a key market for pharmaceuticals and vaccines but also as a hub for knowledge and expertise.
Beyond having access to talent, it is equally important to focus on recruiting, training, and coaching individuals based on the organization’s needs. This means recruiting the right individuals from top universities with the necessary skills and commercial acumen and ensuring they are continuously upskilled, mentored, and nurtured to meet our expectations and contribute effectively. A strong talent pool exists, but training and coaching are essential to prepare them for our future needs.
EF: What is your perspective on how new advancements in AI, machine learning, and data cloud technologies enhance healthcare efficiency?
ZS: Our global ambition is to become the first pharma company powered by artificial intelligence at scale, equipping our people with tools and technologies that enable better and faster decision-making every day. We are scaling AI across the organization, integrating it at every level rather than in isolated cases. In R&D, AI accelerates product pipelines and supports clinical trials, while in commercial activities, it boosts efficiency.
AI is already presently an integral part of daily life at Sanofi. One example is our tool, Plai, available on smartphones: an industry-leading app that provides real-time updates on sales performance, inventory data, and many other key internal metrics. It also enables "What-if" analysis and simulations, guiding our team to make better decisions. We are investing in AI and embedding it deeply into our operations. It is only a matter of time before its full potential is realized.
EF: Could you share more about your strategy and approach to expanding vaccine coverage, particularly in India? How do you collaborate with local partners to ensure your vaccines reach the people needing them?
ZS: Across our region, we navigate different go-to-market models based on market archetypes. The most effective way to expand vaccine access is through government immunization programs, where possible. However, the region also presents significant private market opportunities driven by a growing middle class and higher affordability. This creates a strong chance to expand access to high-quality vaccines in the private market. The middle-income segment is increasingly health-conscious and well-informed, making it a valuable target. In India, we are a key partner in the government’s polio eradication efforts and support various vaccine portfolios— DTP primary series combos, flu, and meningitis—through the out-of-pocket market, where we hold a dominant share.
Success in these markets requires strong local partnerships. Within Sanofi India, our recently announced partnerships for Cardiovascular, CNS (Central Nervous System), and Vaccines have shown initial positive results as our iconic established brands in these categories begin to expand their presence across the country. This momentum is significantly paving the way for our future plans as we chase the miracles of science to improve people’s lives in India.
In India, we are in an exclusive partnership with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd., a global pharmaceutical company, to promote and distribute our vaccine brands across private markets in the Country. Under the arrangement, Dr. Reddy’s has exclusive rights to promote and distribute Sanofi’s well-established and trusted pediatric and adult vaccine brands. Sanofi continues owning, manufacturing, and importing these brands to the country.
EF: Why is a dollar invested in India better than in other regions? And, in your case, why is a dollar invested in vaccines a better choice than investing elsewhere?
ZS: India’s vast population, ranking first globally, and its growing middle-income group create a significant business opportunity. Furthermore, vaccine confidence has reached its highest in India in the last few years. Yet, much must be done for the rest of the country’s large unvaccinated cohort. Fulfilling our long-term commitment to India while expanding our geographic reach, we’re confident this partnership will further bolster our promise of saving millions of lives against vaccines’ preventable diseases with improved vaccination coverage.
A single dollar spent on vaccines can save thousands in healthcare costs associated with disease management and treatment.
EF: In recent years, India has been recognized as the "pharmacy of the world." While this designation was fitting at the time, India has since evolved beyond that. Where do you see India heading in the coming years?
ZS: India is shifting from being seen primarily as a hub for affordable manufacturing to a provider of both affordability and enhanced quality. We have seen drastic healthcare enhancements within the country, and it is leveraging its scale to export high-quality medicines and vaccines globally. So, it is no longer just about low-cost production but about delivering high value—offering good quality at affordable prices.
While India has earned its reputation as the world’s pharmacy, its future lies far beyond low-cost manufacturing. With a thriving biotech sector, digital health innovations, and a deep talent pool, India has tremendous potential to become a global healthcare innovation hub, but this may require a balanced approach.
By creating an environment that both protects multinational companies' intellectual property rights and ensures fair access for Indian citizens, we can establish ‘sustainable’ partnerships. MNCs bring crucial expertise and investment, create high-skilled jobs, develop local talent, and establish innovation ecosystems that benefit the entire healthcare sector, while India offers scale and diverse talent. The goal should be collaborative innovation that serves India's needs while maintaining an attractive investment climate.
Sustainable innovation requires thoughtful IP frameworks that encourage continued investment in research. By balancing immediate access with innovation incentives, we create an environment where patients benefit from today's treatments and tomorrow's breakthroughs. This forward-looking approach ensures a continuous pipeline of medical advances that address India's unique healthcare challenges.
EF: Where do you see yourself in five years, and how do you envision the future of the company?
ZS: Over the next five years, we will focus on introducing new products to this region and establishing ourselves as a leader in immunology and vaccines across Asia. Expanding access to our vaccines and pharmaceutical products will be a priority, ensuring they reach a wider audience and improve quality of life.
The opportunities are immense, and we are working diligently to develop the right solutions for each market. Additionally, we aim to encourage greater investment in healthcare by emphasizing its value. A dollar spent on healthcare is often weighed against other investments, but ultimately, health is wealth. Our goal is to reinforce this reality and drive meaningful progress in the industry.
EF: Do you have a final message for our readers?
ZS: Collaboration is key to improving healthcare and patient outcomes in this region. Challenges such as high disease burdens, poverty, and inequitable access remain. The question is how we can work together to bring innovative, accessible, high-quality healthcare solutions across all life stages and socio-economic groups.
