Pfizer Appoints Former Novartis Executive Tina Deignan as New Head of Oncology Commercialization

Recently, according to FiercePharma, Pfizer has hired a new head of oncology commercialization to help the company achieve its goal of "having eight blockbuster-level cancer drugs by 2030."

Suneet Varma, the current Commercial President of Pfizer's Oncology Division, has decided to retire after 15 years with the pharmaceutical giant. Chris Boshoff, Pfizer’s Chief Oncology Officer, announced the move on LinkedIn last Friday.

Varma joined Pfizer after Wyeth was acquired by Pfizer in 2009, initially overseeing the consumer health business. In 2022, he transferred from Pfizer’s rare disease division to become the President of Global Oncology. At the end of 2023, Pfizer underwent a major organizational restructuring, spinning off the oncology division, with Boshoff becoming the leader of the division and Varma taking on the role of head of commercialization for the division.

Tina Deignan will take over Varma's position. She most recently served as the Senior Vice President of Novartis’ U.S. Oncology business. Deignan also worked at BMS for 15 years, spending the majority of her time in the company’s oncology division. Boshoff said on LinkedIn that Deignan led the "launch of landmark cancer immunotherapy indications" during her time at BMS.

Boshoff stated that Deignan will officially take office this fall, while Varma will continue working at Pfizer until early 2025 to ensure a smooth transition.

Pfizer Spent $43 Billion to Acquire Seagen, the Leader in ADC, Triggering a Restructuring of Pfizer's Oncology Division. After the Acquisition, Pfizer Set a Goal to "Launch 8 Blockbuster-level Cancer Drugs by 2030," but Currently, There Are Only 5.

During the ASCO Annual Meeting held this year, Varma said in an interview that Pfizer expects these blockbusters to come from four key areas, namely breast cancer, genitourinary cancers, hematologic malignancies, and thoracic tumors.

Varma also said at the time that Pfizer's ongoing cost-cutting measures would not affect the oncology division, as the division had already completed its post-merger integration. Moreover, Pfizer’s oncology division has an appropriately scaled commercial operation, with the capacity to take on more products.

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