Gary Thal, M.D., has been promoted to vice president, Specialty, Medical Affairs, Americas, Astellas. He reports to Shontelle Dodson, Pharm D., senior vice president, Medical Affairs, Americas. 
 
Dr. Thal will assume overall responsibility for the strategic direction of the Specialty product portfolio within the Medical Affairs, Americas organization, including continued medical support of in-line products, late-stage development compounds and ongoing business support across the region. 
 
“Dr. Thal joined the companyin 2012, and has been integral in the building and leading a team of medical directors, medical science liaisons and Health Economic and Outcomes Research (HEOR) specialists across the cardiovascular, anti-infective and immunology/transplant therapeutic areas,” said Dr. Dodson. “With Gary’s leadership, we plan to continue to support our internal and external partners to translate insights into strategies to further define value of Astellas’ products to patients.” 
 
Prior to joining Astellas, Dr. Thal served as vice president, Medical Affairs Research, at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He also held leadership positions in Medical Affairs at Bristol-Myers Squibb, in Princeton, NJ, and DuPont Pharmaceuticals in Wilmington, DE.