AstraZeneca has appointed Susan Galbraith as executive vice president of oncology research & development, effective immediately.
Galbraith, who has over 20 years of experience in drug discovery and development and a background as a clinical oncologist, joined AstraZeneca in 2010. She formerly served as senior vice-president and head of research and early development for oncology. To date, Galbraith has overseen the development of seven programs to phase 3 trials, including four new and approved cancer medications.
In her new role, Galbraith will continue to help further AstraZeneca's pipeline of therapies for particularly complex cancers. One of the most promising is the drugmaker's AKT inhibitor, capivasertib, currently in several phase 3 trials for treatment of breast and prostate cancers. Additionally, AstraZeneca's proposed takeover of rare disease specialist, Alexion, may provide the opportunity to use Alexion’s complement biology platform across the group to explore its further applications in oncology.
Galbraith will take over the position previously held by renowned cancer researcher Jose Baselga, who passed away earlier this year at the age of 61. News sites reported that Baselga suffered from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare, rapidly progressing, degenerative brain disease.
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