Former Head of Pharmaceutical R&D of Roche Joins Pfizer
William Pao will oversee Pfizer’s global product development organization and be responsible for the clinical development and advancement of the company’s pipeline.
Pfizer recently announced that it will appoint William Pao, MD, PhD, as executive vice president and chief development officer.
Effective March 2022, Pao will replace Rod Mackenzie, who recently announced his intent to retire after nearly 35 years at Pfizer. Pao will report to chairman and CEO, Albert Bourla.
In his role, Pao will oversee the company’s global product development organization, which is responsible for the clinical development and advancement of the company’s innovative medicines pipeline.
The pipeline includes products for inflammation and immunology, internal medicine, hospital, oncology, and rare diseases, as well as regulatory affairs to support Pfizer’s research and development pipeline and portfolio of marketed therapies.
“We are delighted to welcome William Pao to our executive leadership team in this crucial role as we enter the next era of innovation at Pfizer,” Bourla said in the announcement.
“Throughout his impressive career, William has amassed extensive clinical and deep scientific expertise that make him the ideal leader to continue our pursuit of both cutting-edge science and breakthrough medicines and vaccines for the benefit of patients and society,” he continued.
Previously, Pao was the head of pharmaceutical research and development at Roche and oversaw the discovery and early development of a portfolio of new molecular entities. He was also a member of Roche’s enlarged corporate executive committee.
Additionally, Pao simultaneously held key positions as professor of medicine and director of the division of hematology/oncology at Vanderbilt University and director of personalized medicine at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.
During this time, he co-founded MyCancerGenome, a pioneering cancer medicine knowledge resource for physicians, patients, caregivers, and researchers.
Pao acknowledged that Pfizer has saved millions of lives through its breakthrough science, especially during COVID-19. “I am honored to assume the leadership of Pfizer’s global product development organization to help bring the next transformative medicines to the world faster,” he said.
