Robert R. Ruffolo, Jr., Ph.D. will retire as president, Wyeth Research and senior vice president,
Wyeth, later this year. He will be succeeded by
Mikael Dohlsten, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Ruffolo joined Wyeth in November 2000 and has been responsible for all pharmaceutical R&D for the company, including discovery, drug safety and metabolism, chemical and pharmaceutical development, clinical R&D and research operations.
"Bob Ruffolo has been the driving force of our R&D progress, establishing Wyeth as one of the research leaders in the pharmaceutical industry," said Bernard Poussot, Wyeth's president and chief executive officer. "His legacy will be our pipeline, recognized as one of the industry's most innovative. Bob has helped position our company for future growth through robust research and development programs in oncology, women's health, vaccines, inflammation, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and neuroscience -- led by our multi-platform effort in Alzheimer's."
Dr. Ruffolo's work has been recognized throughout his 31-year career in the pharma industry with a number of prestigious awards including: The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America's (PhRMA) 2008 Discoverer's Award for his efforts in the discovery and development of Coreg while at GlaxoSmithKline; the 2006 Scrip Award for Management Team of the Year for The Wyeth R&D Executive Team (RADEX)—formed and chaired by Dr. Ruffolo; and the George B. Koelle Award for Scientific Excellence.
Dr. Dohlsten was previously executive vice president within Pharmaceutical R&D/Medicine at Boehringer Ingelheim. He was responsible for leading the company's pharmaceutical research in the U.S., Canada, Germany, Italy, Austria and Japan, with major programs in seven therapeutic areas including: respiratory, inflammation/immunology, oncology, virology, cardiovascular, metabolism and CNS. He was also a member of the corporate management team responsible for reviewing all worldwide development projects and licensing opportunities. Prior to joining Boehringer, Dr. Dohlsten spent more than 15 years in various leadership roles in pharmaceutical research including positions with AstraZeneca and Pharmacia & Upjohn.
"We look forward to Dr. Dohlsten's leadership as we work together to continue our success at Wyeth Research," said Mr. Poussot. "His experience with industry in a broad range of therapeutic areas, and his vision going forward, match well with our scientific objectives. We know Mikael's global experience and perspective will be an inspiration to Wyeth's outstanding research teams."
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