Jose Baselga, AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca moved quickly to secure the services of José Baselga, who only recently left his position as physician-in-chief of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK).
Baselga will become EVP of research and development for oncology at AZ.
Baselga resigned from his previous position after it was revealed, through a joint investigation by the New York Times and ProPublica, that he had failed to disclose receiving millions of dollars from the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.
Despite the publicity that Baselga attracted, AZ moved to appoint him to its leadership ranks four months after his resignation.
Pascal Soriot, CEO of AZ, made no mention of the circumstances that made Baselga available for hire in a statement welcoming him to the company’s ranks: “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.”
It is not the first time that Baselga is working with AZ – he had previously acted as a consultant to the company, and had also worked in similar positions with various pharma companies, including Roche and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Prior to working at MSK, he had also served as chief of oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.