Olivier Bogillot, Head of General Medicines for North America, Sanofi
October 2025 — The United States remains an exciting market for global life sciences companies. In New Jersey, Sanofi is doubling down on its presence in the region by enhancing its operations in the Garden State. From research to commercialization, New Jersey will be a key state for the growth of this global biopharma company. In an interview with Invest:, Olivier Bogillot, head of general medicines for North America for Sanofi, highlights the expansion of the U.S. operations in New Jersey and how AI will help further revolutionize the life sciences sector.
What is the overview of Sanofi’s U.S. operations?
Sanofi is an R&D driven, AI-powered biopharma company. Our motto is that we chase the miracles of science to improve peoples’ lives. This is what we do. We focus on the research and development of new medicines and vaccines for patients, as well as on the production of medicines and vaccines, and we also focus on commercialization.
We have a global presence, including in Europe and Asia, and the United States is our number one market and one where we invest heavily. Recently, our CEO announced a commitment to invest $20 billion in this market for the rest of the decade. Our recent investment in Morristown, where we opened new flagship offices for some 2,000 employees, is part of this commitment. New Jersey is part of Sanofi’s U.S. legacy.
What unique advantages does New Jersey provide for your operations?
Stepping back a bit, the United States is an amazing country for the life sciences sector. Several markets are incredible for the industry. The Boston area, where we also have a significant presence, is one of them. On the West Coast, there is a cluster where biopharmaceutical companies have a friendly ecosystem. But New Jersey is specific, with a strong legacy in life sciences. For example, Merck started to build facilities in New Jersey at the end of the 19th century.
It is a longstanding attribute for the state, where life science companies have had the opportunity to operate and thrive. Eight of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies have a presence in New Jersey, which is clearly a powerhouse for our industry. New Jersey is a place where the location, the talent, the infrastructure, as well as the business climate, have adapted for a company like Sanofi. As a home to institutions such as Princeton and Rutgers, and many others that foster great talent, New Jersey offers a friendly ecosystem to grow talent and to grow Sanofi.
What current industry trends are you following closely?
We are living in a period of incredible breakthroughs and transformation in the biopharma industry. Every day, there are new publications that illustrate our new understandings of the biology and mechanisms of diseases. Each time we have an evolution in science, it provides an acceleration for the industry and ultimately for patients because we are dedicated to finding treatments, medicines, and vaccines. For Sanofi, our goal is to become the leader in immunology.
Basically, we are examining how a person can use their own immune system, and understand what is behind a deterioration of the immune system, to fight against pathology and diseases. We understand much more about some mechanisms of action, and we are developing treatments to treat large pathologies such as asthma or type 1 diabetes. Understanding more of biology is the first big trend.
The other big trend is the use of AI and how we can use data to understand more and faster. For us, AI is critical and powers our innovation. We start with research, and AI can help us as we identify targets, the mechanisms of action, and build calculations to find the right target to fight a specific disease. AI can accelerate these processes, and we collaborate with other companies to help use AI at scale for research. It also assists in development when we start to do clinical studies and assess the efficacy and safety of medicines on patients.
The idea is to move this process along quickly and so as we seek to identify the right dose, the right patient, and the right signal in this process, AI and data can help us. And then we enter into the production phase, and the production of medicines and vaccines is exacting and specialized, and AI can help accelerate the production and give even higher quality outputs. In the commercialization phase, we are using AI to better identify populations who may benefit from our work and have improved adherence to treatment. AI is a disruptive technology and an evolution because it helps us from the research phase through the commercialization phase.
What are the top priorities for Sanofi in the coming years?
Sanofi in New Jersey has multiple teams from research to commercialization. Looking at research, the objective is to become the world leader in immunology. This is an important goal; becoming a leader means understanding the science and identifying the right medicine for the right patients. We look for diseases where the need is high. We were the first to launch a biologic medicine for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) when there were no similar available medicines. As a global leader in vaccines, Sanofi continues to advance its leadership in immunization through innovation and scale.
One of our most significant achievements is the launch of a transformative preventive antibody that has already helped to protect millions of infants globally from serious lung infection caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Supported by over 40 real-world studies and data from more than 250,000 immunized babies, this product has consistently demonstrated strong efficacy and safety. It not only addresses a critical unmet need in pediatric health but also represents a scalable solution with the potential to help reduce the burden this highly contagious virus has historically had on healthcare systems – underscoring our ability to help deliver both meaningful public health impact and long-term value creation.
Our objective is to identify unmet needs, understand the root cause of diseases, and try either internally or through acquisition to find a solution to treat disease. These are our priorities, and the results can change the lives of patients and their families. This is what is most rewarding about the work that we do.
