LONDON, Jan 6 (APM) - AstraZeneca has appointed a new leader for its immuno-oncology drug development operation following the departure of the previous head for personal reasons, the company said.
Rachel Humphrey left the company at the end November and was replaced last month by Robert Iannone, a member of the global medicines development team, a spokeswoman said on Monday in response to inquiries from Thomson Reuters. Her departure was not announced at the time.
Humphrey's exit coincides with the loss of another leader in immuno-oncology, albeit from a different part of the firm. Peter Emtage, who was involved in early research at AstraZeneca's unit MedImmune, was appointed to a senior position at biotech company Intrexon on Dec 4, the news agency added.
AstraZeneca said the two departures were a coincidence and the company's work in immuno-oncology was proceeding at full steam, with no problems with any programmes. "It's business as usual," the spokeswoman said.
The company, which saw off an 85 billion euros takeover attempt by Pfizer last year, is banking on new cancer medicines to help revive its fortunes.
It is also hoping for an imminent boost to its heart drug Brilinta from results of a clinical trial - known as PEGASUS - assessing the medicine's use in patients who experienced a heart attack 1-3 years ago. That group could more than double the number of patients eligible for Brilinta.
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