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Local Economic Development

Some of the ways we contribute to the economic development of these communities include:

• Measures to support employees who are impacted by changes at the Group’s sites
• Investment choices
• Decisions about where to locate production to be closer to patients

In France: Supporting Sanofi employees who start their own business

As part of the Corporate Social Responsibility approach of a major company such as ours, Sanofi’s willingness to play an active part in local economic development reflects our commitment to innovation and expresses our solidarity with the economic development of the communities that are home to our operations in France.

Sanofi believes that employees who, over the course of their career, wish to start their own business or acquire an existing company should receive support to facilitate administrative formalities and the various steps required to make their project a success.

Sanofi’s business “start-up” unit assists employees in the different phases of project development by calling on the necessary expertise inside and outside the Group and by providing financial support.

This program, which is open to all Group employees, illustrates the Sanofi values of innovation and solidarity. It encourages employees’ entrepreneurial spirit, sense of initiative and motivation to make a project in which they believe become a reality.

Worldwide: Technology and knowledge transfer

Building a link between patents and technology transfer is essential, according to WIPO, the United Nations agency in charge of promoting innovation through a balanced intellectual property system. The agency’s position is that the dissemination and transfer of technology constitutes a major pillar in support of the patent system and its raison d’être. In November 2010, WIPO’s Committee on Development and Intellectual Property initiated a project to foster developing countries’ access to knowledge and technologies. New partners will be included in all aspects of technology transfer.

For more information: What is WIPO

• www.wipo.int / What is WIPO

According to the World Trade Organization’s agreement on Trade-Related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the protection and enforcement of intellectual property should contribute to the promotion and diffusion of the transfer of technology. However, transfer of technology is not yet fully implemented, and thus creates high expectations on the part of developing and emerging countries.

Our position

• Technology and know-how confer a competitive advantage to companies and therefore enhance their competitiveness. Nevertheless, for several years Sanofi has been committed to transferring technology and knowledge. Indeed, Sanofi is a global group, present in many developing and emerging countries, with a network of more than 30 industrial sites in developing economies. By encouraging harmonization of practices and quality levels in all its sites, Sanofi contributes actively to the transfer of knowledge and technology to countries in the South.
• Sanofi considers that the sharing of expertise through training and employment of local staff contributes to development, while fostering improvement in patients’ health. Sanofi also works with local regulatory authorities and carries out clinical trials in many countries.
• Technology transfer is one of the many options that could increase the availability of vaccines in developing countries. Sanofi Pasteur is involved with many capacity-building projects and know-how transfer projects to build local production capacity in developing countries, and also has put into place some voluntary licenses.
• However, technology transfer is a major commitment for stakeholders and is certainly not a remedy for all ills. Sanofi Pasteur supports establishing local production capacity in developing countries under certain conditions: if the project can reasonably succeed, in a place where there are appropriate local practical conditions and where it reflects an ideal and sustainable use of resources. High investments can only be justified for sites that produce a sufficient amount of doses. Moreover, vaccine production is complex and is both capital and time-intensive, requiring highly qualified staff and an infallible supply chain.