Former AstraZeneca VP joins Walgreens

The US' leading pharmacy group Walgreens has tapped the pharma industry to lead its efforts in market access.

Mark Lelinski (pictured) will leave his role as VP, Americas region marketing and sales, at pharma company AstraZeneca (AZ) to join the drug retailer, which holds a 45 per cent stake in fellow pharmacy group Alliance Boots.

As Walgreens' corporate VP, market access, he will be responsible for the company's contracting and pricing strategies, as well as integration efforts across the pharmacy, health and wellness division and managing market strategies.

Lelinksi spent a total of nine years at AZ in several marketing and strategy roles, during which time he was responsible for implementing new commercial capabilities across the US and Canada and building new capabilities in Latin America to improve market access.

Prior to joining AstraZeneca, Lelinski was a partner at Accenture, where he headed the pharmaceutical marketing and sales effectiveness practice.

“His experience in managed market roles both in the US and internationally is the right fit for where Walgreens is headed,” said Kermit Crawford, Walgreens president of pharmacy, health and wellness.

“As a strategic partner of choice in the healthcare industry, we believe Mark's relationship-driven approach will help us strengthen our partnerships and create more value from the emerging models and markets that will be key to our growth moving forward.”