August 24, 2015
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
LONDON – AstraZeneca PLC tapped Sean Bohen, Genentech ’s former senior vice president of early development as the company’s newest chief medical officer, the company announced this morning.
In his new role, Bohen will be responsible for driving the progress of AstraZeneca’s portfolio of small molecules and biologics investigational medicines through late-stage development to regulatory approval. Additionally, he will be responsible for patient safety across the entire portfolio of AstraZeneca MedImmune, AstraZeneca said. Bohen is expected to assume his new position on Sept. 15.
In June, AstraZeneca lost two top-level executives, including Briggs W. Morrison, the former head of global late-stage drug development. Morrison was tapped by privately-held Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc. as its new CEO. During his tenure at AstraZeneca, Morrison played a crucial role in fighting off a takeover by Pfizer Inc. last year, during which AstraZeneca rejected a $118 billion bid on the strength of its own independent pipeline and culture. He came to AstraZeneca in 2012 with a focus on streamlining and updating its drug portfolio. He also played a role in boosting the company’s R&D efforts to a budget of $5.6 billion in 2014, a major jump from the $4.8 billion it spent in 2013.
Also in June, James Ward-Lilley, the head of respiratory and inflammatory medicines, departed the company to become chief executive officer of lung drug specialist Vectura Group PLC. Ward-Lilley is expected to take the helm of the Chippenham, England-based Vectura in October. Bruno Angelici, chairman of Vectura’s board of directors, said Ward-Lilley’s experience in the respiratory market will be an asset for Vectura. The addition of a respiratory specialist at Vectura will certainly help that company carve out a foothold in the respiratory drug market and build on previous successes.
Pascal Soiriot, AstraZeneca’s chief executive officer, touted Bohen’s history in developing drugs for commercialization.
“Sean is a tremendous scientist and an accomplished drug developer. His 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. His extensive diagnostics experience will also reinforce our efforts in precision medicine,” Soiriot said in a statement.
As one of the guiding hands of clinical development, Bohen will be working to achieve Soiriot’s vision of doubling AstraZeneca’s annual revenue to $45 billion by 2023. To succeed, AstraZeneca is developing its own medicines as well as padding its pipeline through acquisitions. Earlier this month the company expanded its oncology pipeline after inking a $510+ million deal with Heptares Therapeutics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sosei Group Corporation, for global rights to HTL-1071 for the treatment of a number of cancers. Additionally, AstraZeneca and Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. struck a deal to develop antisense therapies for cardiovascular, metabolic and renal diseases.
While those deals surge ahead, AstraZeneca terminated three clinical projects in the first half of 2015, a program for selumetinib for uveal melanoma, tenapanor for ESRD-pi/CKD with T2DM and Nexium for refractory reflux esophagitis. The selumetinib and tenapanor programs were halted for safety and efficacy reasons. “Regulatory” was cited for that particular program with Nexium.
During his 12 years at Genentech, Bohen oversaw preclinical and clinical development therapy programs, including oncology, respiratory and autoimmune diseases.
In addition to his work at Genentech, Bohen also served as an adjunct clinical instructor in oncology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He was also a research associate at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE).
