AstraZeneca Appoints Sean Bohen as Chief Medical Officer -- Update
August 24 2015 - 5:07AM
Dow Jones News
By Denise Roland
AstraZeneca PLC has appointed Genentech's Sean Bohen as
executive vice president of Global Medicines Development and chief
medical officer, filling a key research and development role that
was left vacant with the sudden departure of Briggs Morrison in
June.
The U.K.-based drug maker said Dr. Bohen, who was President of
Early Development at Genentech, a division of Switzerland's Roche
AG, will join the company on Sept. 15.
He will take on responsibility for the development of
AstraZeneca's pipeline of drugs through clinical trials to
regulatory approval, the company said in a statement. This will
place Dr. Bohen at the heart of Astra's strategy to nearly double
its annual revenue to $45 billion by 2023, a goal which depends on
the success of its new and upcoming drugs. This target was part of
Mr. Soriot's defense against an unsolicited acquisition approach
from rival Pfizer Inc. last year.
Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said Dr. Bohen's "impressive
expertise in key areas of our exciting pipeline, including oncology
and immunology, will further strengthen and accelerate the delivery
of new medicines for patients."
Dr. Bohen was also previously an oncology specialist at Stanford
University School of Medicine. Cancer medicines form a key part of
Astra's growth plans, with oncology drugs expected to account for
one quarter of its long-term revenue target.
His predecessor Dr. Morrison exited Astra to become chief
executive of Syndax Pharmaceuticals, a closely-held biotech company
developing a compound in immuno-oncology, a hot new therapy area
that harnesses the immune system to fight tumors.
Write to Rory Gallivan at rory.gallivan@wsj.com; Twitter:
@RoryGallivan
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 24, 2015 04:52 ET (08:52 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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