Bristol-Myers Squibb names replacement for retiring CSO

US pharma major Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) has appointed Dr Thomas Lynch, Jr, as executive vice president and chief scientific officer, effective March 16, 2017.

He succeeds Dr Francis Cuss, who will retire from the company. Dr Cuss will serve as an advisor to the company for the next three months to ensure a seamless transition. In connection with the announcement, Dr Lynch will step down from the B-MS board of directors, effective March 15, 2017.

Dr Lynch has more than 30 years of medical, management and leadership experience, including more than 23 years at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). He served as chairman and chief executive officer of Massachusetts General Physicians Organization and as a member of the MGH board from 2015 to 2017. While at MGH in 2004, Dr Lynch was part of the team credited with the significant discovery that certain genetic mutations in lung cancer patients caused therapies to work for some individuals and not for others.