Amgen exec moves to become Novartis CMO

Novartis’ (NOVN: VX) Vas Narasimhan, who became chief executive of the company on February 1, has now found a replacement for his previous post as head of global drug development (GDD) and chief medical officer, naming John Tsai to the position.

Dr Tsai will join Novartis on May 1, 2018, and will be based in Basel, Switzerland. He will report to Dr Narasimhan and will become a member of the executive committee of Novartis (ECN). Dr Rob Kowalski, who led GDD ad interim since February 1, will resume his responsibilities as head of global regulatory affairs for GDD.

Dr Tsai has been CMO and senior vice president of global medical at US biotech giant Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN), since May 2017 and oversees all clinical and medical functions across multiple sites worldwide. At Novartis, he will be responsible for advancing the company's industry-leading pipeline of innovative medicines and biosimilars. Dr Tsai will also lead the GDD organization's ongoing transformation embracing the power of advanced data sciences and digital technologies to create a more agile model for drug development.