Pfizer Announces New Chief Scientific Officer and President, Research & Development

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Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) today announced that after a comprehensive internal and external selection process, the company is appointing Chris Boshoff, M.D., PhD, as Chief Scientific Officer and President, Research & Development effective January 1, 2025. Dr. Boshoff, who most recently served as Chief Oncology Officer and Executive Vice President, will succeed Dr. Mikael Dolsten whose departure from Pfizer was announced earlier this year. In his new role, Dr. Boshoff will remain a member of Pfizer’s Executive Leadership Team reporting to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Albert Bourla, and he will oversee all functions of Research & Development across all therapeutic areas.

Pfizer’s Oncology R&D organization will maintain its fully integrated structure with Roger Dansey, M.D. serving as Interim Chief Oncology Officer, reporting to Dr. Boshoff effective January 1, 2025. Dr. Dansey will assist Dr. Boshoff in selecting a permanent Chief Oncology Officer, after which time he will retire from Pfizer. He will also facilitate a smooth transition of his current responsibilities to his successor, Johanna Bendell, M.D. who will be joining Pfizer from Roche in 2025 as Chief Development Officer, Oncology.

"Dr. Boshoff is the ideal leader to propel Pfizer’s R&D engine forward and transform it into a world-leading organization with a more focused strategy, driving the delivery of additional impactful breakthrough medicines with blockbuster potential,” said Dr. Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Chris has a compelling vision for the future of R&D at Pfizer and deep knowledge of our entire pipeline and R&D organization that positions him well to succeed. He has an impressive record of building strong teams and delivering numerous breakthrough medicines. Under Chris’ leadership, Oncology has become one of Pfizer’s most productive divisions and his continued supervision will ensure that we achieve our goal of being a global leader in oncology and other core therapeutic areas.”

During Dr. Boshoff’s more than 11 years at Pfizer, he has delivered an impressive 24 approved innovative medicines and biosimilars in more than 30 indications. Prior to becoming Chief Oncology Officer, Chris served as Chief Development Officer for Oncology and Rare Disease, and he also previously served as Head of Development Japan across all therapeutic areas. Before assuming leadership roles in the biopharmaceutical industry, Dr. Boshoff served as founding Director of the University College London (UCL) Cancer Institute. He earned his medical degree from University of Pretoria in South Africa, a doctorate Ph.D. from the Institute of Cancer Research in London and trained as a medical oncologist at the Royal Marsden and Royal Free Hospitals in London. He is an elected Fellow of the U.K. Academy of Medical Sciences.

"I am honored to be succeeding Mikael and to be taking on leadership of a combined R&D organization that includes world-class talent and capabilities, industry leading success rates and cycle times, and a promising pipeline of innovative medicines and vaccines candidates poised to have a tremendous impact for patients globally,” said Dr. Chris Boshoff. "I look forward to working even more closely with Albert, our executive leadership team, and our entire R&D organization to take Pfizer’s pipeline and productivity to the next level. I am confident that we can build on our long history of successes and drive even deeper focus on advancing the most impactful programs in areas of high unmet medical need that will have a meaningful impact on patients worldwide.”

After joining Pfizer through the Seagen acquisition, Dr. Roger Dansey has served as the Chief Development Officer, Oncology. At Seagen, he served as Chief Medical Officer since 2018 and interim CEO in 2022, leading clinical development efforts for PADCEV, TUKYSA, and TIVDAK, as well as securing supplemental approvals for ADCETRIS. Previously, he led Clinical Oncology Research at Merck, overseeing KEYTRUDA®ⁱ (pembrolizumab) registration efforts.

Dr. Johanna Bendell is currently Global Head of Oncology, Pharma Research and Early Development at Roche. Previously, she held significant roles at Sarah Cannon Research Institute, including Director of Gastrointestinal Oncology Research and Chief Development Officer. She also held positions at Duke University Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. Johanna holds a Doctor of Medicine degree from The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Chicago. Her medical training includes a residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital and an oncology fellowship at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

About Pfizer: Breakthroughs That Change Patients’ Lives

At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacture of health care products, including innovative medicines and vaccines. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world's premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For 175 years, we have worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. We routinely post information that may be important to investors on our website at www.Pfizer.com. In addition, to learn more, please visit us on www.Pfizer.com and follow us on X at @Pfizer and @Pfizer News, LinkedIn, YouTube and like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Pfizer.

Disclosure Notice: The information contained in this release is as of November 20, 2024. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this release as the result of new information or future events or developments.

This release contains forward-looking statements about, among other things, Pfizer’s research and development organization and strategy, goals, prospects, products and product pipeline, including their potential benefits and breakthrough and blockbuster potential, that involves substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including the ability to meet anticipated clinical endpoints, commencement and/or completion dates for our clinical trials, regulatory submission dates, regulatory approval dates and/or launch dates, as well as the possibility of unfavorable new clinical data and further analyses of existing clinical data; risks associated with interim and preliminary data; the risk that clinical trial data are subject to differing interpretations and assessments by regulatory authorities; whether regulatory authorities will be satisfied with the design of and results from our clinical studies; whether and when any drug applications, biologics license applications and/or emergency use authorization applications may be filed in any jurisdictions for any potential indication for Pfizer’s product candidates; whether and when any such applications that may be pending or filed for any of Pfizer’s product candidates may be approved by regulatory authorities, which will depend on myriad factors, including making a determination as to whether the product's benefits outweigh its known risks and determination of the product's efficacy and, if approved, whether any such product candidates will be commercially successful; decisions by regulatory authorities impacting labeling, manufacturing processes, safety and/or other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of Pfizer’s product candidates, including development of products or therapies by other companies; manufacturing capabilities or capacity; uncertainties regarding the ability to obtain recommendations from vaccine technical committees and other public health authorities and uncertainties regarding the commercial impact of any such recommendations; the uncertainties inherent in business and financial planning, including, without limitation, risks related to Pfizer’s business and prospects, adverse developments in Pfizer’s markets, or adverse developments in the U.S. or global capital markets, credit markets, regulatory environment or economies generally; the impact of COVID-19 on our business, operations and financial results; and competitive developments.

A further description of risks and uncertainties can be found in Pfizer’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 and in its subsequent reports on Form 10-Q, including in the sections thereof captioned "Risk Factors” and "Forward-Looking Information and Factors That May Affect Future Results”, as well as in its subsequent reports on Form 8-K, all of which are filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov and www.pfizer.com.

ⁱ KEYTRUDA is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.

Category: Corporate, Leadership, Research

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