Novartis AG's Top Scientist to Step Down, Taps Harvard Medical School Faculty Member to Drive Oncology Research
September 25, 2015
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
BASEL, Switzerland -- Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG tapped James Bradner, a cancer specialist from Harvard Medical School as the new president of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) in an effort to continue to drive the company’s oncology unit, the company announced this morning.
Bradner, who begins his new position in March of 2016, will succeed Mark Fishman, 64, who will be retiring after 13 years with the company, Novartis said. Bradner will be based at Novartis’ headquarters in Cambridge, Mass. Novartis said Bradner will begin his stint with Novartis on Jan. 1 2016 and work alongside Fishman until his retirement three months later to ensure a smooth transition into his role.
Joseph Jimenez, chief executive officer of Novartis, said Bradner’s experience in scientific discovery and medicine will make him a valuable member of the Novartis team. Jimenez said Braden will be able “to further develop our internal research capabilities, as well as expand our external collaboration efforts with biotech companies and academic institutions.”
During Fishman’s 13 years at Novartis, Jimenez said he redefined research at the company through the hiring of top scientists and clinicians to help expand the company’s research. Jimenez said Fishman put “patient need and disciplined science at the center of our strategy, which has filled our pipeline with new medicines.”
Since 2005, Bradner has been a member of the faculty of Harvard Medical School in the Department of Medical Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He is a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Chicago Medical School. He completed his residency in medicine at the Brigham & Women's Hospital, and fellowship in Medical Oncology and Hematology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. During his time at Dana-Farber, Bradner has been working on the discovery and optimization of prototype drugs targeting cancer gene regulation, according to the institute’s website. His research goal has been to deliver novel therapeutics for human clinical investigation in hematologic diseases.
“Our scientific objectives are to understand pathways of gene regulation, to create technologies that accelerate cancer research and to translate these ideas as curative cancer therapeutic strategies” Bradner said on his Bradner Labs website.
In May, his lab team published a paper describing a chemical strategy to bind and target cancer proteins for the treatment of leukemia.
Novartis has been making strides in its oncology programs, which Bradner is expected to continue and innovate. Earlier this month, Novartis launched Novartis Access, a portfolio of 15 medicines to treat chronic disease in 30 developing and third-world countries. Medications included in the portfolio will be used to treat cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, respiratory illnesses, and breast cancer, the company said.
After several rounds of legal action, earlier this month Novartis launched the first U.S. biosimilar Zarxio, used to treat severe neutropenia in cancer patients undergoing myelosuppressive chemotherapy.
In July, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Novartis’ Odomzo for the treatment of advanced basal cell carcinoma. Odomzo is one of the company’s portfolio of targeted treatments for advanced skin cancers.