AstraZeneca has appointed Dr Sean Bohen as chief medical officer and executive vice president of global medicines development starting 15 September.
Bohen joins from Genentech where he was senior vice president of early development.
At Genentech, he managed preclinical and clinical development programmes across all therapy areas and prior to this position was also a key figure in the growth and progress of the Genentech-Roche portfolio.
As CMO he will ensure patient safety across AZ’s entire portfolio and additionally be responsible for pushing medicines from late-stage development through to regulatory approval.
Pascal Soriot, CEO at AZ, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Sean to AstraZeneca at a very exciting time for our company.
“Sean is a tremendous scientist and 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.”
Before joining Genentech he was a clinical instructor in oncology at Stanford University School of Medicine, a research associate at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a postdoctoral fellow at the National Cancer Institute.
AZ’s former CMO, Briggs Morrisson, surprised many when he left earlier in June to join a privately owned US biotech company.