GSK picks Pfizer exec for CMO role
11 Sep 2008
Pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has named Pfizer employee Ellen Strahlman as its new chief medical officer (CMO).
The research-heavy drugs company has recruited Ms Strahlman from her current role as vice-president of licensing and worldwide business development at its competitor.
Previously, she has also worked for the biotechnology Virogen as chief executive officer and as head of research and development at Bausch & Lomb.
Moncef Slaoui, GSK's head of research and development said: "The depth of Ellen's medical expertise, her general management and business development experience and proven leadership skills make her ideally suited to take on the challenges of this critical role."
GSK recently released its new strategic priorities, predicting the pharmaceutical sector will become increasingly difficult as an "unprecedented" number of treatments lose their patent protection.
It said it plans to ensure future sales by boosting the strength of its core small-molecule pharmaceutical businesses, as well as investing more into "fast-growing areas" like consumer healthcare and vaccines.
