Sanofi teams up with McLaren Racing to accelerate industrial excellence

28 Apr 2022 | Network Updates | Update from Sanofi
These updates are republished press releases and communications from members of the Science|Business Network

Sanofi

Sanofi announces today that it is partnering with McLaren Racing to accelerate manufacturing efficiency and performance in support of the company’s ambition to attain world-class standards of manufacturing excellence. Following a successful pilot in 2021 with McLaren Racing, both companies have decided to extend their collaboration across multiple sites in seven countries, covering more than 100 production lines, across all technologies. Learnings from this partnership will provide insights and develop best practices for manufacturing that will then be implemented across Sanofi’s global industrial network .

Paul Hudson, Chief Executive Officer, said “We are thrilled to partner with McLaren and learn from their winning spirit and culture of going over and above. I see a lot of commonalities in our shared values to stretch, with courage and determination, so we can maximize performance and operational excellence. We want to run our lines with the speed, precision and efficiency of an F1 racing team.”

McLaren Racing experts will collaborate with Sanofi’s Industrial Affairs team to enable continued optimization of its manufacturing operations, enabling its global network to better support the supply of its broad portfolio, as well as enhancing the delivery of its R&D pipeline, with 25 new launches expected in the next five years to meet patients’ needs around the world.

With a unique data-driven approach, McLaren Racing will bring its digital and analytical expertise and skills to further elevate Sanofi’s performance by helping to better anticipate and resolve issues before they take place. Modelling simulation of production line changeovers and operations will be key areas of McLaren’s Formula 1 experience, as exemplified using advanced data analytics and expertise used to optimize the famed pit stops of F1 races.

Zak Brown, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Racing, said “We are thrilled to be partnering with Sanofi. It is important that two global companies who share values work together to maximise performance. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with Sanofi to make a positive impact not only in manufacturing but to help Sanofi improve patients' lives.”

Beyond the technical leadership from F1, the collaboration will bring a specific focus on the people dimension of high performance. The partnership will bring a race-like mindset, emulating the competitive, fast paced environment of F1 racing to help accelerate improvements, learnings and sharing of best practices individually and collectively across sites, fostering a “one Sanofi spirit.” This unique opportunity will marry the best of the two companies with the speed, agility, teamwork, and constant improvement required to succeed in motor racing, as well as in healthcare discoveries.

Brendan O’Callaghan, Executive Vice President for Industrial Affairs, Sanofi, said:“We aspire to industry-leading capability across our global network of sites, so we can deliver on our mission to translate the miracles of science - discovered in our laboratories - into reality for patients. This program represents a great opportunity to improve our manufacturing sites' performance with a leading partner like McLaren, who personifies high performance in a fast-paced, ultra-competitive environment, leveraging advanced data driven analytics and precision engineering to gain a winning edge. Accelerating our performance in this way will help us further expand the reach of our medicines to even more patients around the world.”

This article was first published on April 26 by Sanofi.

Never miss an update from Science|Business:   Newsletter sign-up