French drugmaker Sanofi has announced plans to streamline its corporate structure with effect from January 2016. The company pointed to its heritage formed from a combination of venerable companies – including Aventis, the merged drugs business of Germany’s Hoechst and France’s Rhone-Poulenc – which has enabled it to deliver “highly innovative treatments.”

Sanofi said it is now poised to achieve significant growth with the potential of launching up to six new medicines in 2015 and about one every six months between 2016 and 2018. The new organization “simplifies and focuses Sanofi to optimize growth,” said Olivier Brandicourt, who took over as CEO in April.

Five new global business units are planned to be created. General Medicines & Emerging Markets will be headed by Peter Guenther and will consist of Sanofi’s established products, generics, consumer healthcare, and all pharmaceutical businesses in emerging markets.

The Specialty Care Global Business Unit, to be called Sanofi Genzyme, will be led by David Meeker and will consist of Sanofi's medicines in rare diseases, multiple sclerosis, oncology and immunology, including the two investigational biologics, sarilumab and dupilumab.

Sanofi’s Diabetes & Cardiovascular Global Business Unit will be led by Pascale Witz and will consist of diabetes care medicines as well as cardiovascular, including praluent (alirocumab), currently under review by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

As global business units, Sanofi Pasteur and Merial will continue to manage their current portfolios of vaccines and animal health products. Olivier Charmeil will continue to lead Sanofi Pasteur and Carsten Hellmann will continue to lead Merial.

Similar to Research and Development and Industrial Affairs, all functions will be globalized to better serve the business units, the French drugmaker said.

The makeup of the executive committee will remain unchanged.