Blueprint
FORM 6-K
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
Report
of Foreign Issuer
Pursuant
to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the
month of (January
2019)
Commission
File Number: 001-11960
AstraZeneca PLC
1
Francis Crick Avenue
Cambridge
Biomedical Campus
Cambridge
CB2 0AA
United
Kingdom
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form
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as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1):
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as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): ______
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by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information
contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information
to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934.
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assigned to the Registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b):
82-_____________
AstraZeneca PLC
INDEX
TO EXHIBITS
1.
AstraZeneca
announces organisational changes
7 January 2019 13:00 GMT
AstraZeneca announces organisational changes
Company to drive innovation, focus, growth and
productivity;
José Baselga, MD, PhD, appointed to head R&D for
Oncology
AstraZeneca is today announcing organisational changes to support
continued scientific innovation and commercial success in the main
therapy areas as the Company enters a new phase in its strategic
development.
Included in the changes will be the arrival at AstraZeneca of the
world-renowned oncology scientist, José Baselga, as well as
the creation of:
●
Therapy area-focused Research and
Development units that are responsible for discovery through to
late-stage development - one for BioPharmaceuticals
(Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism (CVRM) and Respiratory) and
one for Oncology - with dynamic resource allocation across the
Company's pipeline.
●
Mirrored commercial units - one for
BioPharmaceuticals and one for Oncology. The creation of the
BioPharmaceuticals commercial unit aligns product strategy and
commercial delivery across CVRM and
Respiratory.
The Research and Development units and the commercial units will
each be represented on the Senior Executive Team of AstraZeneca and
report to Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Pascal Soriot.
The units will also share common basic biology and science
platforms as well as product supply, manufacturing and IT
infrastructure to improve efficiency. These resources will continue
to be allocated on a Company-wide basis according to the overall
therapy area considerations and strategy.
The Research and Development unit for BioPharmaceuticals will be
led by Mene Pangalos, who was previously responsible for the
Company's Innovative Medicines and Early Development Biotech
Unit.
The Research and Development unit for Oncology will be led by
Dr. Baselga, a foremost Oncology leader with vast experience in the
development of innovative cancer therapies, who joins the Company
today. He was most recently Physician-in-Chief at Memorial Sloan
Kettering Cancer Center and Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell
Medical College. Prior to this, he was Chief of the Division of
Hematology/Oncology and Associate Director at the Massachusetts
General Hospital Cancer Center and Professor of Medicine at Harvard
Medical School.
The commercial unit for BioPharmaceuticals will be led by Ruud
Dobber, who was most recently responsible for the Company's
commercial operations in North America. The commercial unit for
BioPharmaceuticals mirrors the Company's existing commercial unit
for Oncology, which continues to be led by Dave Fredrickson. The
International commercial organisation remains under current
leadership.
Pascal Soriot, CEO, said: "We are entering what we expect will be a
period of sustained growth for years to come, which is why we have
decided to more closely align our R&D and commercial
operations. This new structure will support growth and sharpen the
focus on our main therapy areas, speeding up decisions and making
us more productive in our mission to bring innovative medicines to
patients.
In line with these changes, I am delighted to
welcome José to AstraZeneca. An outstanding
scientific leader in Oncology, José's research and clinical
achievements have led to the development of several innovative
medicines, and he is an international thought leader in cancer care
and clinical research. José's expertise adds further
scientific and leadership excellence to our already strong team and
will help us to continue building a world-class R&D unit for
Oncology."
José Baselga, Executive Vice President (EVP), Research and
Development unit for Oncology, said: "After more than 30 years
helping develop medicines in this area, it is a true privilege to
now have the opportunity to work with the tremendous Oncology
expertise at AstraZeneca. Bringing the discovery through to
late-stage development chain into one unit will make the process
more agile and accelerate our work to bring transformative
medicines to patients. This really is a dream
job."
Biographical details - Dr. José
Baselga
Dr. Baselga served as the Physician-in-Chief at Memorial Sloan
Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and Professor of Medicine at Weill
Cornell Medical College from 2012 to September 2018. Under his
leadership, MSK became the leader in early-phase clinical trials
for cancer therapies and diagnostic genetic
sequencing.
Dr. Baselga is an international thought leader for innovation in
cancer care and clinical research, and his research and clinical
achievements have led to the approval of a number of life-saving
cancer therapies, and to the creation of a number of
biopharmaceutical companies.
Prior to joining MSK, Dr. Baselga was Chief of the Division of
Hematology/Oncology and Associate Director at the Massachusetts
General Hospital Cancer Center and Professor of Medicine at Harvard
Medical School. He was also the Chairman of Medical Oncology and
Founding Director of the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology in
Barcelona, Spain. As a recent past President of the American
Association for Cancer Research (AACR), Dr. Baselga worked
collaboratively with the AACR Board of Directors and the AACR
membership to further the mission to cure cancer through
research.
Dr. Baselga is an elected member of the National Academy of
Medicine, the American Society of Clinical Investigation, the
Association of American Physicians, and an elected Fellow of the
AACR Academy. He is a past President of the European Society for
Medical Oncology, where he was recently awarded their Lifetime
Achievement Award, and a past member of the Board of Directors for
the American Society of Clinical Oncology and AACR.
Biographical details - Dr. Menelas (Mene) Pangalos
Prior to today's appointment, Mene served as EVP of AstraZeneca's
Innovative Medicines and Early Development Biotech Unit and Global
Business Development, where he had overall responsibility for
research and early development activities spanning three continents
and 2,500 people.
Since joining AstraZeneca in 2010, Mene has led a transformation of
its R&D productivity resulting in a greater than four-fold
increase in success rates compared to industry averages. In
parallel, he has championed an open approach to working with
academic and other external partners, changing the nature of
academic-industry collaboration.
One of AstraZeneca's leading scientists, Mene has published over
150 peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals and has served as
editor of various books and journals. He is a Visiting
Professor of Neuroscience at King's College London and the holder
of an Honorary degree of Doctor of Science from Glasgow
University.
Mene makes a significant contribution to UK science. He is a Fellow
of the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Royal Society of Biology
and Clare Hall, University of Cambridge. He sits on the
Medical Research Council (MRC) Council, co-chairs the Life Sciences
Council Expert Group on Innovation, Clinical Research and Data and
is a member of the Life Sciences Industrial Strategy Implementation
Board. He is also a Board member of the British Pharmaceutical
Group, The Francis Crick Institute, Dizal Pharma and Cambridge
University's Judge Business School. Mene is a member of the Royal
Society, Science, Industry and Translation Committee.
Biographical details - Dr. Ruud Dobber
Prior to today's appointment, Ruud held the role of EVP, North
America since August 2016. Ruud joined AstraZeneca in 1997 and has
held various senior commercial and leadership roles, including as
EVP, Europe, Regional Vice-President of AstraZeneca's European,
Middle East and African division, Regional Vice-President for the
Asia Pacific region and Interim Executive Vice-President, Global
Product and Portfolio Strategy.
Ruud was a member of the Board and Executive Committee of the
European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations
(EFPIA) and was previously Chairman of the Asia division of
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
Holding a doctorate in immunology from the University of Leiden in
the Netherlands, Ruud began his career as a scientist, researching
in the field of immunology and ageing.
More
information on AstraZeneca's Senior Executive Team (SET), including
biographies, is available on AstraZeneca.com/our-company/leadership.
About AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that
focuses on the discovery, development and commercialisation of
prescription medicines, primarily for the treatment of diseases in
three therapy areas - Oncology, Cardiovascular, Renal &
Metabolism and Respiratory. AstraZeneca operates in over 100
countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of
patients worldwide. For more information, please
visit astrazeneca.com and
follow us on Twitter@AstraZeneca.
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Adrian Kemp
Company Secretary
AstraZeneca PLC
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Date:
07
January
2019
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By: /s/
Adrian Kemp
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Name:
Adrian Kemp
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Title:
Company Secretary
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