Onyx appoints Amgen’s Luigi Costa as VP of Europe

Onyx Pharmaceuticals has hired Luigi Costa as VP and head of Europe.

Costa joins the US-headquartered biopharma from Amgen where he was most recently VP and general manager of France.

In his new role he will be based at Onyx' European headquarters in Zug, Switzerland and have responsibility for leading the company's commercialisation efforts in Europe and developing its organisational structure in the region.

He will report to Dr Helen Torley, executive VP and chief commercial officer of Onyx Pharmaceuticals.

“Luigi is a proven leader in the European biopharmaceutical arena,” said Dr Torley. “His track record of success in growing established brands, such as Neulasta and Aranesp, and navigating the reimbursement environment to successfully launch new oncology products, will be key to Onyx's development of our global commercialisation plans and the potential launch of carfilzomib in Europe.”

Costa had been at Amgen since 2003 and his roles there included general manager for Switzerland and Italy as well as international head of nephrology and oncology.

Prior to joining Amgen he worked for Eli Lilly & Company between 1995 and 2003, serving in roles such as business unit director and global pricing and access manager.