Welcome back to your monthly news roundup, where we take a look back at the top moments to hit the pharma headlines. It’s time to reflect on February 2026
Garijo takes the wheel at Sanofi
Last month, the appointment of Belén Garijo as Sanofi’s new CEO marked a pivotal moment for the French multinational. Replacing Paul Hudson, whose mandate was abruptly non-renewed in February 2026 after six years, Garijo enters as the board seeks a sharper execution of its innovation strategy. While Hudson transformed Sanofi’s image into a modern specialty-care player, persistent pipeline setbacks and a lagging share price compared to rivals like AstraZeneca may have led to his departure.
Garijo, formerly of Merck, brings a reputation for rigorous R&D revitalisation and her stated focus is to reignite the company’s internal innovation engine. Garijo has a history of identifying shrewd opportunities, positioning healthcare manufacturers at the forefront of high-growth therapeutic areas. Her targeted acquisition of SpringWorks Therapeutics, the largest in two decades for Merck, positioned the company as a leader in immuno-oncology. At Sanofi, this could signal that a new chapter of breakthrough R&D lies ahead, driving the company’s next phase of growth.
Cutting the red tape (and the two-trial dogma)
The Sanofi board’s appetite for innovation is matched by a shift in the FDA regulatory machine. In one of many landmark shifts, the regulator is moving away from the long standing requirement for two identical phase 3 trials to prove efficacy. This change recognises and champions a modern reality – molecular modelling and precision medicine have reached a level of predictive power that makes old school clinical trials feel more like a hurdle than a safeguard.
However, while the FDA is granting new freedoms in one direction, it is signalling stricter controls in the other. At the end of last year, it proposed stricter protocols for vaccines including new standards that could require randomised controlled trials for most new vaccine products.
In February, this tension played out with Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine. The FDA initially issued a “refusal-to-file” letter due to an issue with the company’s trial design, before reversing course a week later under the condition of a post-marketing study in older adults.
Nipah Virus: a springboard for innovation?
While the FDA is tightening the leash on vaccines, development of a novel immunisation to Nipah virus moved firmly into the spotlight after it resurfaced in West Bengal last month. Historically, the region has seen sporadic, high-fatality outbreaks (notably in 2001 and 2007), often due to the difficulty of early diagnosis.
The investigation into a new vaccine candidate is a direct beneficiary of the COVID vaccine breakthrough, utilising the same viral-vector platform that saved millions of lives during the pandemic. Indeed, lessons from the pandemic have also helped streamline development: regulators are already familiar with the platform’s safety profile, easing the path into clinical trials. The industry has also embraced proactive, if risky manufacturing, with the Serum Institute of India establishing a 100,000-dose reserve before the vaccine is even fully licensed.
For a virus with a 75% mortality rate, this will be welcome news worldwide, particularly for those who remember the race to develop vaccines in 2020. As Prof Dame Sarah Gilbert, University of Oxford, noted, this progress is a “testament to the value of international collaboration and long-term investment”.
Honourable mention of the month
The recent passing of the actor James Van Der Beek from bowel cancer has reignited the conversation surrounding early detection. While the pharmaceutical industry has traditionally focused on lucrative late-stage therapies, firms like Exact Sciences and Guardant Health are proving that the future lies in blood- and stool-based diagnostics. Future progress may hinge on whether the industry can pivot its resources more toward early detection, shifting the focus to intercepting disease before the first symptom even appears.
