GSK appoints president of global pharmaceuticals

GlaxoSmithKline has appointed Luke Miels as president of global pharmaceuticals, succeeding Abbas Hussain.

Miels joins the UK-headquartered firm from AstraZeneca, where he is currently executive vice president of AZ's European business. Prior to this, Miels served as executive vice president of global product and portfolio strategy, global medical affairs and corporate affairs.

He moved to AZ from Roche in 2014, having been regional vice president of its Asia-Pacific pharmaceutical operations, based in Shanghai, Singapore, after promotion from vice president and head of metabolism and anemia global marketing for Roche Switzerland.

He also brings management experience from Sanofi's operations in the US, Thailand, New Zealand and Australia to the role.

Emma Walmsley, GSK's chief executive officer designate, said: “Luke brings a combination of excellent R&D insight and a strong track record of commercial execution.

“We are now entering a critical period of commercialisation for our new pharmaceutical products and, over the next two to three years, we have important data to come on our early-stage pipeline.

“Luke will bring a strong new voice to the decisions and choices we will have to make for our pharmaceuticals business. I am delighted he has agreed to join GSK and look forward to welcoming him to the executive team.”