Pfizer boosts oncology R&D oversight, parts ways with development chief William Pao

Pfizer will shuffle its executive team, emphasizing the role oncology will play in its future by adding a new C-suite member but also parting ways with its development chief just 16 months after poaching him from Roche.

William Pao will depart “in the month ahead,” the New York Big Pharma said in a surprise move Thursday morning. Pfizer recruited him from Roche’s executive bench last year to replace three-decade veteran Rod MacKenzie.

Chris Boshoff

He leaves as Pfizer adjusts its executive leadership team to reflect the growing importance oncology will have going forward, largely as a result of its planned $43 billion acquisition of Seagen. To highlight that, oncology and rare disease development leader Chris Boshoff will become chief oncology research and development officer and EVP. He’ll have the direct ears of chair and CEO Albert Bourla, and he leads the integration planning for Seagen’s medicines and people, Pfizer said.

With that, chief scientific officer Mikael Dolsten will lead all discovery and clinical development for non-oncology therapies, the drugmaker said. His oversight includes vaccines, inflammation and immunology, internal medicine, infectious diseases, non-malignant hematology and rare neuromuscular diseases.

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