Pfizer names oncology head Chris Boshoff as R&D chief

By Sriparna Roy and Michael Erman

(Reuters) -Pfizer said on Wednesday it has named company veteran and oncology head Chris Boshoff as its chief of research and development, as the drugmaker faces pressure from investors to produce profitable new drugs.

The company recently contended with criticism from activist investor Starboard Value, which said Pfizer had overspent on big acquisitions as well as run disappointing internal research and development operations.

Under CEO Albert Bourla, the New York-based drugmaker poured money into new deals to offset a sharp fall in sales of its COVID-19 vaccine and antiviral Paxlovid from pandemic highs.

The drugmaker said Boshoff will take on the role of chief scientific officer starting Jan. 1 and oversee all functions of research and development across all therapeutic areas.

Boshoff's appointment concludes a four-month search that included internal and external candidates.

Daniel Barasa, research analyst at investment firm Gabelli Funds, said it was somewhat surprising that Pfizer chose an internal candidate for the role "given recent activist pressure looking for fresh perspectives in the leadership ranks."

"This appointment is probably an indication that Pfizer will be doubling down on its focus on oncology from an R&D perspective, which we view as a positive step given recent failures across its non-oncology R&D efforts," he said.

Boshoff succeeds Mikael Dolsten, a key figure behind the development of Pfizer's COVID vaccine, who said he planned to step down from the role earlier this year after a more than 15-year career at the drugmaker.

Pfizer shares are down nearly 13% so far this year and are trading at less than half of their peaks during the pandemic.

The company's recent track record for developing and launching new drugs has been disappointing, with poor results for a closely watched experimental obesity drug, a weak launch of its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, and the pulling of its sickle cell disease treatment Oxbryta due to deaths in clinical trials.

Most recently, Boshoff, Pfizer's chief oncology officer, also served as chief development officer for oncology and rare diseases, and as head of development in Japan across all therapeutic areas at Pfizer.

He has been with Pfizer for more than 11 years and has overseen the approval of 24 innovative medicines and biosimilars in more than 30 conditions.

The most closely watched experimental assets in the company's current pipeline include complex cancer drugs, two potential obesity treatments, a next-generation COVID treatment, updated pneumonia vaccines and a drug to counter weight loss in cancer patients.

Roger Dansey will serve as the interim chief oncology officer and will assist in the search for his replacement, the company said.

Dansey was chief medical officer of Seagen when Pfizer acquired the company for $43 billion last year. He plans to retire from Pfizer after a new head of the cancer business is selected.

The drugmaker added Johanna Bendell, who will join the company from Roche in 2025, and will take on the role as oncology chief development officer.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru and Michael Erman in New York ; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Jonathan Oatis)