Sanofi Appoints Paulo Fontoura as Global Head of R&D, Succeeding Houman Ashrafian
核心洞察
Sanofi has named Paulo Fontoura, MD, PhD, FAAN, as Executive Vice President and Global Head of R&D Pharma, effective September 1, 2026, based in Paris and reporting to CEO Belén Garijo.
Fontoura brings over 25 years of experience across academic medicine, translational science, and pharmaceutical R&D, most recently serving as Chief Medical Officer of AI-native biotech Xaira Therapeutics (搜索).
During his prior tenure at Roche, Fontoura's teams contributed to the development of over 60 new molecular entities, leading to more than 20 FDA and EMA first approvals and line extensions.
Sanofi today announced the appointment of Paulo Fontoura, MD, PhD, FAAN, as Executive Vice President, Global Head of Research & Development Pharma, effective September 1, 2026. Fontoura will be a member of Sanofi's Executive Committee, based in Paris, and will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Belén Garijo. He succeeds Dr. Houman Ashrafian, who has decided to pursue an opportunity outside the company after a three-year tenure.
As head of R&D Pharma, Fontoura will lead Sanofi's end-to-end innovation engine, spanning research, translational medicine, clinical development, and regulatory affairs, with responsibility for advancing a differentiated pipeline and accelerating the delivery of transformative medicines to patients.
A Seasoned R&D Leader with Deep Neuroscience Expertise
Fontoura is a board-certified neurologist and physician-scientist with more than 25 years of experience spanning academic medicine, translational science, clinical development, and pharmaceutical innovation. He holds an MD and PhD from the New University of Lisbon and completed postdoctoral training in neuroimmunology at Stanford University. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology and has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed scientific publications.
Most recently, Fontoura served as Chief Medical Officer of Xaira Therapeutics (搜索), an AI-native biotechnology company focused on transforming drug discovery and development through generative artificial intelligence. Prior to Xaira, he spent more than 15 years at Roche, where he held a series of senior leadership positions culminating as Senior Vice President and Global Head of Clinical Development for Neuroscience, Immunology, Ophthalmology, Infectious and Rare Diseases.
A Track Record of Pipeline Productivity
During his tenure at Roche, Fontoura oversaw a global organization of physicians and clinical scientists and was accountable for managing a broad late-stage portfolio across multiple therapeutic areas. His teams contributed to the development of over 60 new molecular entities across several therapeutic modalities, leading to over 20 FDA and EMA first approvals and line extensions, including multiple breakthrough therapies across neuroscience, rare diseases, immunology, and ophthalmology.
Leadership Perspectives
"I want to thank Dr. Houman Ashrafian for his contribution to our company over the last three years and I wish him all the best in his next chapter. I am delighted to welcome Paulo to the Executive Team," said Belén Garijo, Chief Executive Officer of Sanofi. "Paulo is a highly respected R&D leader with a strong track record across research, development, and innovation. His scientific expertise, development experience, and leadership of large-scale innovation organizations will be invaluable as we continue to advance our pipeline and shape the future of R&D at Sanofi."
Fontoura expressed enthusiasm about joining the company: "I am thrilled to join Sanofi at such an exciting moment. In recent years, Sanofi has established a leadership position in immunology and built strong positions in several other areas of significant unmet medical need, while demonstrating a clear commitment to scientific innovation and AI-powered transformation. I am deeply honored to join the company at this important moment and help Sanofi to expand and transform its pipeline and grow its leadership role in biopharma, and I look forward to working with our talented teams to advance breakthrough medicines for patients around the world."
Strategic Context
The appointment comes as Sanofi continues to advance its R&D transformation and progress a pipeline of new medicines across multiple therapeutic areas. The company describes itself as an R&D-driven, AI-powered biopharma company, applying deep understanding of the immune system to invent medicines and vaccines. Fontoura's background combining traditional drug development expertise with recent experience in AI-native drug discovery at Xaira Therapeutics (搜索) aligns with Sanofi's stated commitment to AI-powered transformation.