Takeda Announces Key Leadership Appointments in Oncology and CFO Transition

Recently, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited announced two personnel changes.

According to industry media Fierce Biotech, on January 29, Takeda announced the appointment of Phuong Khanh Morrow as the head of the Oncology Therapeutic Area. The former head of the Oncology Therapeutic Area, Chris Arendt, had transitioned to become Takeda's Chief Scientific Officer and Head of Research several months ago.

Phuong Khanh Morrow holds a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School and has over a decade of experience in global drug development leadership, with extensive expertise in oncology and hematology therapeutics. Phuong Khanh Morrow worked at Amgen for more than 10 years, holding various leadership roles during her tenure; she was also appointed by the FDA as the industry representative to the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC), serving a four-year term. Prior to joining Takeda, she led global clinical development and regulatory operations at CRISPR Therapeutics, where her compensation reached $5.7754 million in 2022, according to the company’s 2022 annual report.

In addition, Takeda announced on its official website on February 1 that Costa Saroukos will step down from his position as Chief Financial Officer on April 1 this year and will continue to serve as a member of the board until June 28, 2024. Milano Furuta, President of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited's Japan pharmaceuticals business unit, will assume the role of Chief Financial Officer.

Costa Saroukos holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from Hitotsubashi University in Japan. He has worked in banking and private equity investment in Japan and served as an equity research analyst at an investment management firm in the United States. In 2015, Costa Saroukos joined Takeda as the Chief Financial Officer for Europe and Canada, and in April 2018, he was appointed as Takeda's Global Chief Financial Officer.

At the same time, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited also disclosed its financial report for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2023 (ended December 31, 2023). The core operating profit for the third quarter was 865.6 billion yen, with a net profit of 105.7 billion yen; the global total revenue for the first three quarters was 3.21 trillion yen. Takeda expects the total revenue for the fiscal year 2023 to reach 3.9 trillion yen.