PARIS (Reuters) - Sanofi's board of directors said Chief Executive Chris Viehbacher's succession was not on the agenda of a meeting scheduled for later on Monday, after Les Echos newspaper reported that the board may address the subject.
The newspaper had said that the meeting, ahead of third-quarter results on Tuesday, followed concerns among certain directors that Viehbacher was running the French pharmaceutical company as much from Boston - where he moved several months ago - as from Paris.
"Like any board of a publicly traded company, from time to time Sanofi's board meets in non-executive sessions to discuss a wide range of issues," the board said in a statement.
"Sanofi confirmed that this ordinary board meeting is mainly dedicated to the review of the quarterly results and there is no agenda item regarding the succession of Chris Viehbacher."
Sanofi shares, which have more than doubled since Viehbacher took the helm six years ago, initially fell on the newspaper report but erased losses after the board issued its statement. They were little changed by 0852 GMT.
"Such a move would come as a surprise and would be seen as highly negative by the market as Mr Viehbacher has a great track record since he is at the helm," a Paris-based trader said.
Viehbacher, a German-Canadian and Sanofi's first non-French boss, has transformed the company since he took over in 2008. He slimmed down in-house research he said was not productive enough and sought to offset competition from generics by betting on biotechnologies, consumer and animal health.
With its $20 billion acquisition of Genzyme and a flurry of partnerships with other U.S. biotechs and institutes, Sanofi has become a much more international company - causing some to worry about the company's future in its home market.
French union representatives have criticised Viehbacher for cutting jobs locally and they fear that more damage is set to come as the company seeks ways to offload a 6.3 billion euro (4.9 billion pounds) portfolio of mature drugs, most of which are produced in France.
There are other hurdles ahead for the company, whose earnings repeatedly disappointed last year. Its best-selling drug, diabetes treatment Lantus - which accounts for over a fifth of sales and a third of operating profit - is set to lose patent protection early next year.
Sanofi has sought to regain investors' confidence by replenishing its pipeline of new drugs, including with a potential blockbuster cholesterol treatment, a follow-on to Lantus, and the world's first dengue vaccine.
(Reporting by Natalie Huet and Alexandre Boksenbaum-Granier; Editing by Andrew Callus and John Stonestreet)