Astellas has made two recent senior-level promotions and one new hire within its Medical and Development (M&D) organization. Steven Benner, M.D., was promoted to president and head of development; Zhonghong Eric Guan, M.D., Ph.D., joined Astellas as the senior vice president and head of Medical Affairs (MA), Americas; and Andrew Krivoshik, M.D., Ph.D., was promoted to senior vice president and Oncology Therapeutic Area Head.
 
“I am thrilled that Steven, Eric and Andrew will be leading critical parts of our global organization,” said Bernhardt G. Zeiher, M.D., chief medical officer, Astellas. “I have great confidence that each of these inspiring leaders will help us continue to realize our vision of turning innovative science into value for patients worldwide.”
 
As president and head of Development, Benner will report directly to Zeiher, CMO. He will be responsible for leading the global Development organization, advancing and accelerating Astellas’ evolving pipeline in partnership with Astellas teams across the globe to deliver value for patients.
 
Prior to his recent promotion, Benner served as senior vice president and Oncology Therapeutic Area head. He was responsible for providing global leadership for Astellas Oncology across numerous clinical programs in areas such as prostate cancer, acute myeloid leukemia, gastroesophageal cancer and bladder cancer, among others.
 
As head of MA, Americas, Guan will report directly to Charlotte Kremer, M.D., executive vice president and head of MA. He will assume overall responsibility for the strategic direction of the MA Americas organization, including continued medical support of in-line products and late-stage development compounds, and translation of medical and patient insights into actionable strategies for Astellas’ global medical teams.
 
Guan is a senior business leader and physician scientist with 20 years of pharmaceutical experience. Guan has served in senior research, development, medical and commercial roles across multiple therapeutic areas at global, regional and country levels. He joins Astellas from Pfizer where he held senior roles for the North America region, Asia-Pacific region and emerging markets. 
 
In his new role, Krivoshik will report directly to Benner, president and head of Development. He will assume overall responsibility for the strategic direction of Astellas’ Oncology Therapy Area and advancement and delivery of the oncology pipeline.
 
Prior to his recent promotion, Krivoshik served as vice president of Medical Science, Oncology, where he was responsible for leading a group of medical oncology development physicians.