SPECIAL EDITION | EMPLOYEE OPEN HOUSE 2014

DON’T MISS: JOINING THE PUSH TO END POLIO

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YOUNG ARTISTS SHARE IMAGES OF HOPE

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A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE WITH ILONA SKRYPEC

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The June 8 Open House event was one for the history books! In celebration of Sanofi Pasteur Canada’s 100th anniversary, employees and retirees were joined by family and friends for an afternoon of activities and walking tours. With live music, roving jugglers and carnival rides, the campus was magically transformed for one afternoon, and not even the rain could dampen everyone’s spirits. In this commemorative edition of Site Life, we recap the day’s events, pay homage to the site’s 100-year legacy, and look back at the many smiling faces that made the day so special.

All in the Family For the first time in a quarter-century, the Toronto site opened its doors to not only staff and retirees, but family members too! It was a great opportunity for employees to share their world of work with loved ones, and to celebrate the event’s theme – Farm to Biopharma – a nod to the site’s early days as “Connaught Antitoxin Laboratories and University Farm.” Over 2,200 attendees explored the grounds, many dressed in their country best. There were lots of activities to keep the little ones occupied: roving entertainers greeted families at the front

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gate, face painters and temporary tattoo artists gave colourful makeovers, and costumed actors transported guests back in time at the Quarantine Tent. A lineup of live acts kept crowds entertained throughout the day, and families enjoyed horse-drawn wagon rides around the campus. Many competed at the carnival games, with armfuls of stuffed animals to show for their efforts. (Who can resist feats of strength? Even parents and grandparents duked it out on the High Striker!)

A MESSAGE FROM MARK

Mark with daughter Holly Beth and wife Lori. So much has already been said about our 100th anniversary, as this year has given us many opportunities to reflect on our past and look forward to the future. The Open House event was another way to mark our milestone, but it was unique in that it gave us a chance to welcome family members and friends, our loved ones who have given their support and encouragement over the years. It’s not often that I get to thank these cherished individuals, who are no doubt a constant source of motivation for you each day. When I think of my own family, I’m reminded of why the work we do at Sanofi Pasteur is so important. It was also inspiring to see different generations assembled at the Open House! Many of you who have worked on this site years ago have passed the torch on to children, and even grandchildren. This feeling of community is just one of the many reasons I’m proud to be a part of this company. Thank you to you and yours – it was amazing to have over 2,000 of you gathered for an afternoon of fun, togetherness, and a celebration of our work. Wishing you all a safe and happy summer.

J. Mark Lievonen President, Sanofi Pasteur Canada

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All in the Family (continued)

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Learning Our Science Despite the carnival atmosphere, the Open House was also about showcasing the work we do on site. Several walking tours helped put this into perspective: an authentic vaccine suite in B71 – though currently not in use – gave attendees an up-close look at the equipment and processes used to manufacture vaccines, and the Complex Journey of a Vaccine exhibit illustrated the many steps involved from R&D to distribution. Heritage Square, FF&P (featuring a

labelling line in action), the shipping warehouse, ARD, BRD and HSE were all designated tour stops, manned by volunteers who provided great information and answered questions from curious guests. The science experiments in B95 were an especially popular destination, giving kids a chance to extract DNA from bananas!

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THE WORLD’S BIGGEST COMMERCIAL

WE ARE THISCLOSE TO ENDING POLIO

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Open House attendees had a chance to take part in Rotary International’s “World’s Biggest Commercial.” The global initiative, part of the We Are This Close campaign, urges world leaders to provide critical funding to help end polio for good. A massive collection of portraits – which includes the likes of celebrities and Nobel laureates – are all available to view on Rotary’s website.

Thank you for lending your faces to this important cause! As of 2014, wild poliovirus is confined to isolated pockets in only three countries, making us truly thisclose to achieving global eradication.

by the numbers

more than

2 billion children

have been immunized over 30 years

99% decrease in polio cases since 1985

only

3 remaining endemic countries: Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan

over

100,000 people have signed on to Rotary’s campaign

TAKE ACTION | www.rotary.org 7

The Art of Hope This year’s centenary celebrations included a call for artwork by employees’ children, who were invited to create a piece inspired by Sanofi’s symbol, The Bird of Hope. The site received many beautiful interpretations, all displayed at the Open House. Special thanks to these budding artists for their contributions: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Salma & Radwa Abou-Ali Kayla Albin-Smith Emery Alday Isabel & Julieta Arciniega Rayan & Aaminah Atta Lautaro & Fabricio Ausar Ashley & Amanda Cabral Daniel Carter Kaylee Chai Jennifer Chen Matthew & Patrick Donovan Daniel & James Farrell Shayne Gandhi Nikko Garingalao Adam Isaac Tamera James Aravinth Jebanesan Anish & Asha Kurup Davina Lee Matias & Maria Lima Cody & Allyson Mack Makeda Ming Isaac Ng Unnati Parekh Diya & Pruthvi Patel Jenna & Taylor Peer Elma Pritchett Ryan Qiu Vincent Qu Aditi & Shruti Sandhu Aarjavi & Sanaya Shah David Shen Charlotte & Edlyn To Brigitte Wan Devin & Mya West Nyla & Bliss Wong Megan Wu

Marking Our Centenary Seven commemorative plaques were proudly unveiled at the Open House, in honour of the site’s 100th anniversary. The plaques feature the names of all permanent employees working at the Toronto site as of May 1, 2014, cast in bronze to permanently mark the special milestone. In a fitting homage to our site founder, the plaques will be installed on the exterior of the FitzGerald Building (B81) later this year.

The day’s big winner: Dave Dwyer (centre) claims the grand prize, airfare for two to France!

Yee-haw! Best-dressed honours and a $150 Montana’s gift card went to Martin Rombout and family.

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Open House Memories In the days following the event, we received many thoughtful letters from attendees who shared personal anecdotes and great photographs from their Open House experience. Here is a selection of kind words and fun memories – thanks to all who joined us for a great day with family and friends! It was truly a centenary to remember.

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“My family and I are so grateful for the wonderful day we had! The Open House was an excellent day, full of fun and education…I am so truly honoured to work with such a wonderful team of professionals who have dedicated their lives to saving people’s lives around the globe! We touched history yesterday, a history that we are proud of, and we make history together for tomorrow’s generation to be proud of us!” Jalil Hakimi

s “What a fantastic day! It really meant a great deal to me to be able to share it with my daughter. Sanofi employees are very proud of our company, our mission and our impact on the world. The [Open House] was wonderful because we could share this pride with our families…I hope that we don’t wait another 100 years or even 25 for it to happen again. The company and organizing committee should be really proud!” Nathalie McCoy

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s “My family had a fantastic time and my six-year-old daughter even said it was the ‘best day ever!’. I don’t know if that’s because of the three sticks of cotton candy she’d had, or the five tattoos, but in any case, she loved it!” Leah Pritchett

“My 20-month-old daughter Leah totally thinks I leave her in the morning to come to a very fun place (‘Mommy’s work’). She had cotton candy for the first time [at the Open House] and lots of ice cream and popcorn, and was amazed by the men on stilts. We enjoyed the celebration so very much, thank you for putting it on.” Elena Newman

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WHAT WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO SEE INVENTED IN THE NEXT 100 YEARS?

“Some sort of method of time travel would be great. It would be very convenient…and I’d love to visit the future.” Dickson Ly Telecom Analyst, IS Customer Services

s “I am the daughter of retired employee, Dr. Hung Poon…I want to say thank you for putting on such a lovely event. It was nice to meet some of my father’s colleagues and get a peek into what he did for a living. My children, needless to say, had an absolutely marvelous time. My youngest seemed more enamoured with the science experiments than the candy floss, which is a first for her since she has the sweet tooth in our family. I just wanted to send a heartfelt thanks to the company that has provided so much for my father and our family...we will remember this day for years to come. Here’s a picture of dad at the event…the biggest kid of all!”

WHAT WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO SEE INVENTED IN THE NEXT 100 YEARS?

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Alice Cullingford

“What a wonderful time we had. Thank you so much for including us on Sunday. I stood by my grandfather [Dr. John FitzGerald]’s desk for a while and listened to staff telling family members and friends about the Connaught history. It was very moving. It was delightful to see everyone having such a good time with all the activities…again, thank you to all who made the Open House so special.” Anna Whitley & Fred Blair

“A cure for cancer. I hope that the next 100 years would see new technologies and breakthroughs that would allow future generations to live in a world free from the disease.” Miggi Tomovici Director, Medical Affairs

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REMEMBER WHEN: Ilona Skrypec lona Skrypec, Pricing Manager, Sales & Marketing Support, celebrates 40 years at Sanofi Pasteur this October, but her memories of Connaught go as far back as childhood. Here, Ilona shares a unique perspective as she looks back on her days at the Farm, and the memorable years that followed. division, and Connaught processed hundreds of orders daily. During the flu season I would handwrite the courier waybills for the Shipping department. I also remember sending out product to clinical trials, and then later seeing it become fully licensed and released to the market. (My daughter was actually the first infant to be immunized with Pentacel®!) It gave me such a feeling of pride to witness the journey of a vaccine, and be part of it.

What are your earliest memories of our site? I was about five years old when I first started coming to Connaught. My dad worked in the Polio division, and on weekends, he’d bring me along and I’d play around the guardhouse and in the fields until he was done for the day. Connaught was considered a farm in those days, with horses, chickens, sheep and goats. The site even produced eggs for flu vaccine manufacturing and sold the excess to employees on Fridays! I was lucky enough to be able to take a horse and a couple of goats from Connaught up to a friend’s farm, where I was able to ride the horse for a few years. How did you eventually start working here? I applied for a summer job in 1974 and I would fill in for employees on vacation – mostly secretarial and order entry jobs in Domestic Marketing, which is Commercial Operations today. At that time, there was a Veterinary, Cell Culture and Diagnostic

How have things changed over the years? Because today’s technology wasn’t available back then – this was before the days of email – there seemed to be a greater sense of camaraderie among employees. For instance, if you wanted an order to go out, you took a customer’s order over the phone, wrote it down, and physically walked that paper through the system. I met many colleagues in different departments on a daily basis. Nowadays, you can work with people for 10 years and never actually meet them face-to-face. That’s just the reality of the corporate world today. What are some of your most memorable moments? I look back fondly on the social events we had, like bowling, pub nights, sporting competitions and 50s dances. Most of my current friends are ex-employees from that era, and I will always cherish those days.

In my Customer Service role, I’ve had many interesting experiences as the emergency contact for some critical calls for delivering botulism antitoxin, post-exposure rabies vaccine or anti-coagulant to remote areas. I‘ve organized OPP relay services to get product urgently across the province at 2 a.m.! Once, I had to arrange for a helicopter to land on site in order to get product to a hospital. I’ve also received a speeding ticket for rushing rabies vaccine down to the airport! But, when I followed up on some of those calls to learn the patient was recovering, it gave me a great feeling of pride to work at Connaught. Those were exciting times indeed.

© 2014, Site Life is published quarterly by the Communications Department, Sanofi Pasteur Limited. If you have any comments or questions, please email: [email protected]. Printed on FSC® Certified 100% post-consumer fibre, certified EcoLogo, processed chlorine free and FSC® Recycled and manufactured using biogas energy.

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