As part of its contribution to the global response to the Ebola epidemic, Sanofi announced that it has appointed chief scientific officer Dr Gary J Nabel as its Ebola response coordinator.

In his mission, Dr Nabel will identify how Sanofi can help advance countermeasures to contain the current outbreak, and prioritize and foster opportunities to develop novel treatments for the future.

Dr Gary J Nabel graduated from the Harvard University, completing his PhD in 1980 and MD in 1982.

"Given his past experience in public health epidemics as director of the NIH Vaccine Research Center, and his leadership in developing an Ebola vaccine at NIH, Dr Nabel is uniquely qualified for this position," said Dr Elias Zerhouni, president, Sanofi's global R&D. "Dr Nabel is working with other organizations, including providing guidance to researchers based on the company's extensive experience in vaccine and drug development, to determine how Sanofi can assist in making progress with this global challenge."