Dr. Sumant Ramachandra has been appointed president of R&D at Synta Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Ramachandra joins the company from Hospira, where he led a 1,200-person R&D organization as senior vice president, R&D, Regulatory and Medical Affairs, and chief scientific officer. Prior to joining Hospira in 2008, Dr. Ramachandra served as vice president and oncology portfolio therapeutic area leader at Merck & Co., and therapeutic area head for medical oncology at Pfizer.
 
“Sumant brings a broad range of development and regulatory leadership experience, as well as a unique perspective having led both oncology development at large pharmaceutical companies, and the broader range of R&D functions at a large, global specialty pharma company,” said Safi Bahcall, Synta’s president and chief executive officer. “Sumant’s experiences with a wide range of drugs, manufacturers, pharma companies, payors, providers, and regulatory agencies will enhance our ability to realize the full potential of our product pipeline to benefit patients.”
 
“The programs at Synta can change the treatment of many types of cancers,” said Dr. Ramachandra. “In addition, Synta’s culture of innovation, collaboration, and commitment to speed and excellence in execution are exciting and critical to success in our industry. I am very much looking forward to being part of the Synta team and contributing to bringing these new drugs to cancer patients.”