Pfizer Appoints Former Novartis Oncology Executive as New Commercial Head; Founders of Chinese Biotech Cothera Bioscience Step Down

Half of 2024 has already passed, but it is unknown whether the goals set by major MNCs or Biotechs for this year have been halfway accomplished.

Recently, according to media reports,Pfizer to Welcome New Head of Oncology Commercialization to Help Achieve "Eight Blockbuster-Level Cancer Drugs by 2030" Goal

Suneet Varma, the current Commercial President of the Oncology Division, is about to retire after 15 years at Pfizer.Tina Deigna, whose previous role was Senior Vice President of Novartis' U.S. Oncology business, will officially assume her position this fall, while Suneet Varma will continue working until early 2025 to ensure a smooth transition.

After acquiring Seagen, Pfizer has recalibrated its oncology strategy, aiming for approximately two-thirds of its oncology revenue to come from new molecular entities and new indications for existing products by 2030. The goal is to have at least eight blockbuster cancer drugs by 2030.

Tina Deigna, who is about to take office, has not only worked at Novartis but also spent 15 years at BMS, mostly in the company's oncology division, where she led the launch of BMS’s "iconic cancer immunotherapy indications."

With the addition of a powerful general, Pfizer's ambitions in oncology may be further fueled.

AstraZeneca China has also made adjustments in the oncology field. SinceStarting from July 1, AstraZeneca China will split and reorganize its county-level oncology team, integrating it into the Lung Cancer Business Unit and the Urology, Gynecology, and Women's Oncology Business Unit, which will result in corresponding changes to related personnel positions., including:

Ouyang Haolei, Head of the County-level Oncology Business Unit, will transition to the Hemato-Oncology Team as Executive Director and Head of the Hemato-Oncology Business, reporting directly to Leon Lai, AstraZeneca's Global Senior Vice President, General Manager of AstraZeneca China, and General Manager of the Oncology Business. Huang Ying, current Executive Director of the Hemato-Oncology Business Marketing Department, and Wang Huili, National Sales Director, will report directly to Ouyang Haolei.

At the same time, the urology and gynecological oncology product lines of the Urology, Gynecology and Female Oncology Business Unit will be integrated to establish the Central Region (Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Henan). Dai Xia, the current National Sales Executive Director of the County-level Oncology Business Unit, will transfer to the Urology and Gynecological Oncology Business Unit of the Oncology Business Unit as the Central Region Sales Executive Director, reporting directly to Chen Shangyong, head of the Urology and Gynecological Oncology Business Unit.

This is AstraZeneca in$80 Billion KPIAnother strategic adjustment. In order to achieve a total revenue of 80 billion US dollars in 2023, AstraZeneca not only plans to "acquire high-quality assets through transactions," but also aims to fully leverage the advantages of its existing strong areas, while focusing on key layouts in high-growth markets worldwide to ensure continuous and steady business growth. According to the IMS Report, AstraZeneca currently ranks second in China's oncology business sector, and its oncology business is undoubtedly one of AstraZeneca’s key focus areas.

In addition, notable personnel changes on the MNC side include ——

Medtronic Executive Vice President and Global Regional President Rob ten Hoedt Announces Glorious Retirement on June 28Although he has not yet reached the mandatory retirement age of 65 as per company regulations, he has chosen to step into the beautiful chapter of retirement life ahead of time at the age of 63.

In addition,Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Karen Parkhill also announced her resignation this month to join HP Inc. as Chief Financial Officer. Medtronic will consider both internal and external candidates to succeed Karen Parkhill.During this period, Gary Corona, Senior Vice President of Global Financial Planning and Analysis, will temporarily assume the role of Chief Financial Officer to ensure a smooth transition in the company's financial operations.

Since the beginning of this year, several senior executives of Medtronic have left the company. In addition to the two aforementioned executive vice presidents, Gio Di Napoli, President of the Gastrointestinal business, Ariel Mactavish, President of the Respiratory Interventions division, Bob White, Executive Vice President and President of the Medical Surgical Portfolio, and Christopher Cleary, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development, also departed in March and April.

Medtronic's key focus this year is a comprehensive transformation, including the announcement in February of the closure of its ventilator business, global layoffs and last year’s early retirement plan, stricter cost controls, increased use of automation and digitalization, and strategic R&D investments to support future growth. A significant adjustment in management is also one of the reform measures.

At the same time, there are also,Bayer Senior Vice President and Global Biotechnology Head Jens Vogel Departs, ushering in a moment of "taking new steps and exploring new opportunities." Bayer is optimizing its management levels, reducing redundant management structures. In its redesign, Bayer no longer has the position of Head of Biotechnology.

GE HealthcareRoland Rott Appointed as Imaging President and CEO to Succeed Jan Makela, Taking the Helm of the Medical Imaging Business; Phil Rackliffe, Current President and CEO of Image-Guided Therapy (IGT), to Shoulder Leadership Responsibilities for Both Ultrasound and IGT Businesses.

Former Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Research at SanofiFrank Nestle Announces Next Move This Month After Departure in MayBecome a Partner of Deerfield Discovery and Development (3DC) and Serve as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Leading Drug Discovery and Development Efforts.

MSD ChinaTang Xiaochun, Head of the Vaccine Division and Assistant Vice President, has resigned, with their last working day at the company set for the 17th of this month.

The management changes in China's Biotech companies this month also indicate that a series of transformations are about to come.

June 12,ConnectBioSubmitted a document on personnel changes to the SEC,Medtronic (Shanghai) Limited CEO Wei Zheng and President and Chairman Wubin Pan Both Submit Resignations. Notably, the two are also the founders of the company.

At the same time, the company's board of directors appointed Dr. Kleanthis G. Xanthopoulos to succeed Dr. Pan Wubin as chairman of the board, appointed Dr. Barry Quart as the company's chief executive officer and member of the board, and David Szekeres as the company's president.

Although personnel restructuring in the pharmaceutical industry is increasingly becoming the norm, the departure of both founders and a complete overhaul of the management team has also become a personnel earthquake that has drawn widespread attention in the industry.

Although Connect Biopharma stated in its press release that this personnel change was based on the company's upcoming entry into the commercialization preparation phase, it still could not conceal the instability within the company.

Since its establishment, Connect Biopharma has been warmly pursued by the capital market. Before its IPO, it successfully completed six rounds of financing with the support of many well-known investment institutions such as Qiming Venture Partners and Lilly Asia Ventures. However, after a series of setbacks in its R&D pipeline, investors gradually lost confidence. Currently, Connect Biopharma's core pipeline, Rademikibart, is about to enter the commercialization phase, targeting the star drug Dupilumab in the autoimmune field for the treatment of atopic dermatitis. After this round of personnel adjustments, which direction Connect Biopharma will take remains worth watching.

According to Kleanthis G. Xanthopoulos, the newly appointed Chairman of the Board, "The company's core product, rademikibart, has generated highly differentiated data in asthma and atopic dermatitis, positioning Connect Biopharma as a late-stage company now preparing for commercialization. I look forward to leveraging the new leadership team’s expertise and extensive experience to fully unlock the maximum potential/value of rademikibart and other pipeline products."

On June 3, Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed companiesSirnaomicsPublish Announcement,Chief Medical Officer Francois Lebel and Chief Financial Officer Ye Yongji resign successively. Half a month ago, Dai Xiaochang, Chief Strategy Officer of Sirnaomics, also resigned for personal reasons but will continue to serve as an executive director and has agreed to take on the role of Senior Advisor for Group Drug Development and Commercialization.

Sirnaomics, known as "China's First Nucleic Acid Drug Stock," was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in December 2021. However, after entering 2024, senior executives have been selling shares one after another, and two major shareholders of the company were successively forced to liquidate their holdings... The future of this star pharmaceutical company has become a subject of widespread speculation, with concerns that its cash flow is no longer sustainable.

According to the 2023 annual report, Sirnaomics' core products are two small interfering RNA therapies. The company has yet to generate any product revenue, but its R&D expenditure reached $54.38 million in 2023. By the end of 2023, the company's cash and cash equivalents balance was only $23.88 million, less than a quarter of the amount in the same period of 2022. Sirnaomics candidly stated in the annual report that, to ensure sufficient cash reserves, the group has prioritized resource allocation to projects with significant potential and has suspended or slowed down the development of other projects.

Sirnaomics CEO once told the media that several senior executives of the company have voluntarily proposed salary cuts this year, ranging from 10% to 50%, which have been implemented successively starting from February 15 this year.

At the same time, the company also carried out significant layoffs. Public information shows that the number of employees at Sirnaomics decreased from 225 at the end of 2022 to 145 at the end of 2023. As of early April this year, the company's employee count was around 70.

How Sirnaomics Overcomes Difficulties, Yipin Pharmaceuticals Will Keep Continuous Attention.

Personnel changes worth noting in domestic pharmaceutical companies also include ——

On the evening of June 28,Hayao Pharmaceutical announced that due to retirement, Mr. Liu Bo has applied to resign from his positions as Vice President and Financial Director of the company., and will no longer hold any other position in the company. The company has decided to appoint Mr. Meng Xiaodong, the Vice President of the company, as the financial officer.

June 18,Hukun Bio (formerly Yisheng Bio) announced that Ms. Brenda Wu has resigned from her positions as a director and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the company, and Mr. Zengjun Xu has also stepped down as a director., and both will take effect from June 14, 2024. The resignations of both individuals are due to personal reasons and not the result of any disagreements with the company related to company operations, policies, or practices.

Currently, the company's board of directors has appointed director Rachel Yu as the interim Chief Financial Officer, while the company is searching for a successor to the Chief Financial Officer position.

Notably, on June 10, the newly released list of board members by Lake Shore Bio included the two individuals mentioned above. This means that the two resigned just four days after the official announcement by the board, which is quite rare.

June 6,Tianjing Biopharma Announces the Appointment of Dr. Phillip Dennis as Chief Medical OfficerDr. Phillip Dennis will join I-Mab on June 17, 2024, to lead the company's global clinical development efforts and serve as a member of I-Mab's executive leadership team.

June 3,Hutchmed Announces Key Leadership Appointment. George Yuan from Merck officially joined Hutchmed on June 1st, taking on the role of Executive Vice President and Head of Commercialization.Responsible for leading the entire commercialization team. At the same time, he has become a member of HUTCHMED's Executive Committee and will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Dr. Weiguo Su.

On June 14, the official website of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council announced the appointment and removal of 21 leading personnel from 12 central enterprises. Among them,Bai Zhongquan Appointed as the Party Secretary and Chairman of China National Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd.He has been relieved of his duties as the Party Secretary, Standing Committee Member of the Party Committee, Chairman, and Director of China Electric Equipment Group Co., Ltd. Liu Jingzhen has been appointed as the Party Secretary and Chairman of China Logistics Group Co., Ltd., and has been relieved of his duties as the Party Secretary, Chairman, and Director of China National Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd.

Not only China National Pharmaceutical Group, but also on June 14, important personnel adjustments occurred in the state-owned enterprises of the pharmaceutical industry - General System and China Resources System.

On the same day,China General Technology (Group) Holding Co., Ltd. (referred to as "CGT Group") announced that Cui Zhicheng has been appointed as its director, general manager, and deputy party secretary; CR Group announced the appointment of Guo Ting as the general manager of CR Pharmaceutical Commerce.

The winds of change are sweeping through the pharmaceuticals market, with the reshuffling of senior executives in enterprises reflecting the profound adjustments and strategic transformations taking place within the industry.

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