KENILWORTH, N.J., Feb. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Schering-Plough Corporation today announced the appointment of Ismail Kola, Ph.D., as senior vice president, Discovery Research, in Schering-Plough Research Institute (SPRI), and as the company's Chief Scientific Officer.
Kola reports to Thomas P. Koestler, Ph.D., executive vice president and president, SPRI. Kola is responsible for a team of 1,000 people at the company's discovery research sites in New Jersey, California, Massachusetts and Milan, Italy. He will also become a member of the company's Operations Management Team (OMT).
Kola succeeds Catherine Strader, Ph.D., who has been named senior vice president, Science and Technology, reporting directly to Fred Hassan, Schering-Plough's chairman and chief executive officer. In this new position, she will participate in the company's external science and technology-centered actions, including Business Development and Licensing.
Both appointments are effective immediately.
"As we advance into the Build the Base phase of our Action Agenda at Schering-Plough, we are continuing to focus intensely on building R&D excellence through Tom Koestler's leadership" said Hassan. "Ismail Kola brings a combination of impressive discovery science credentials and a track record as a strong science leader in discovery research. We also look forward to Catherine Strader playing a key strategic role in the science and technology effort at the corporate level."
"We are fortunate to have attracted Kola to our organization," said Koestler. "He will bring a fresh eye to our discovery science. He also brings strengths in cutting-edge science and in translating science into medicines. Kola will benefit from the strong discovery research organization that Strader has built over the years."
Kola joins Schering-Plough from Merck and Company, where he most recently served as senior vice president and site head, Basic Research, and was responsible for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, infectious diseases, immunology and rheumatology, animal pharmacology and basic and medicinal chemistry. He also chaired Merck's Antibacterial and Antifungal Worldwide Business Strategy Team. Prior to Merck, he held positions of increasing responsibility at Pharmacia Corporation and also served as a consultant to SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals. Kola holds a Ph.D. in medicine from the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Strader has been with the company since 1995 when she joined as vice president, CNS, Cardiovascular and Genomics Research. She held positions of increasing responsibility and was appointed Chief Scientific Officer in 2006. Strader holds a Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology.
Schering-Plough is a global science-based health care company with leading prescription, consumer and animal health products. Through internal research and collaborations with partners, Schering-Plough discovers, develops, manufactures and markets advanced drug therapies to meet important medical needs. Schering-Plough's vision is to earn the trust of the physicians, patients and customers served by its more than 33,500 people around the world. The company is based in Kenilworth, N.J., and its Web site is http://www.schering-plough.com.
Schering-PloughCONTACT: Media: Rosemarie Yancosek, +1-908-298-7476, or Investor: AlexKelly, +1-908-298-7436, both for Schering-Plough
Web site: http://www.schering-plough.com/
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