STAT+: Doubling down on its strategy, Pfizer names its head of oncology as new research chief

Pfizer said its chief oncology officer, Chris Boshoff, will head all of the company’s research and development efforts in addition to keeping his current duties overseeing the company’s scientific and commercial efforts in cancer.

Boshoff replaces Mikael Dolsten, who led research and development at the drug giant for 15 years and who announced his plans to retire in July.

The news may disappoint some investors, who may have hoped for a new voice on Pfizer’s  executive team who could change the company’s approach to picking experimental drugs and choosing how to put resources behind them. Instead, Boshoff is a familiar part of the executive leadership who has been at Pfizer for 11 years and who is already the face of the company’s huge bet in cancer, which includes its decision to purchase the cancer-focused biotech Seagen for $43 billion last year.

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