Major Leadership Shuffles at Janssen and AstraZeneca Amid Strategic Restructuring

On November 1, the first day of the month, news emerged of executive position changes at multiple companies, two of which attracted significant attention.

First, on November 1, Janssen Pharmaceuticals announced significant changes to its management team, including Medical Affairs, the Immunology & Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Business Unit, and Commercial, among others.

It has been officially confirmed that Dr. Tong Yu will join the Janssen China management team effective immediately, serving as Vice President and Head of Medical Affairs.

Prior to joining Janssen China, Dr. Tong Yu served as Head of Medical Affairs at Novartis Oncology (China).

Dr. Tong Yu graduated from Peking University Health Science Center with a Doctor of Clinical Medicine degree. Subsequently, Dr. Tong Yu conducted postdoctoral research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and earned an Executive MBA (EMBA) from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland in 2019. Additionally, Dr. Tong Yu has extensive clinical experience, having served as an attending physician and associate chief physician in the Department of Endocrinology at Peking University First Hospital from 2002 to 2008, and has published numerous medical articles in the fields of diabetes and metabolism.

Subsequently, Dr. Tong Yu left the hospital to join the Medical Affairs team at Novo Nordisk China, where she served as Senior Medical Director and oversaw multiple functional areas including Medical Affairs and Medical Information. Under her leadership, the Novo Nordisk China Medical Affairs team became the second-largest Medical Affairs organization globally within Novo Nordisk. On June 24, 2019, Dr. Tong Yu officially assumed the role of Head of Medical Affairs for Novartis Oncology China, responsible for medical affairs operations for Novartis Oncology in China.

Next, Dr. Tong Yu and Zhang Lei, Acting Head of Medical Affairs at Janssen China, will conduct a handover spanning several weeks. Zhang Lei will continue to serve as Head of Regulatory Affairs and will also assume the role of Head of Janssen 3X Innovation.

Additionally, Janssen announced that, effective December 1, He Xuzheng will be appointed Vice President and Head of the Immunology and Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Business Unit. Previously, he served as General Manager for Janssen China Hong Kong and Macau. Subsequently, Fan Jie, former Head of the Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension and Channel Value Excellence Business Unit, will complete the handover of responsibilities with him.

AstraZeneca County Business Head Steps Down

On November 1, Lai Minglong, General Manager of AstraZeneca China, announced a personnel change in the County Business department to employees. Du Haochen, Vice President of AstraZeneca China and Head of the County Business Department, has decided to leave the company for personal reasons, with his last working day being the 17th of this month.

Du Haochen's departure has drawn considerable attention from many colleagues and friends. He left Pfizer to join AstraZeneca in 2015 as the China Head of the County Business Department, where he established and led the county-level team. He implemented AZ's well-known strategy to expand market coverage and penetrate grassroots markets, drove business innovation and breakthroughs, and made significant contributions to extending AstraZeneca's business footprint into primary-level markets.

Note: The original text has been abridged.