Amgen is beefing up its oncology focus with the hire of a former AstraZeneca senior vice president.
Jean-Charles Soria, M.D., Ph.D., will join the Thousand Oaks, California, biotech Aug. 2 to lead Amgen’s oncology therapeutic area as a senior vice president. Soria filled a similar post at AstraZeneca from late-2017 to early-2020 and has since served as general director at cancer research institute Gustave-Roussy in France.
“He has an international reputation in the field of precision medicine, immunotherapy and lung cancer. His expansive oncology expertise and demonstrated leadership is well suited to lead our diverse oncology pipeline and talent into the future,” said Rob Lenz, M.D., Ph.D., Amgen’s senior vice president of global development, in a statement.
Soria’s appointment follows the late-May FDA approval of Lumakras, a major milestone for Amgen in its non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment portfolio.
“I am deeply excited to join Amgen whose innovative science, pipeline and strong commitment to oncology are well set to make a meaningful impact to patients suffering from cancer,” Soria said in a statement.
There’s no shortage of treatment candidates for Soria to work on when he steps into his role. Amgen lists more than a dozen molecules in its oncology pipeline covering a range of indications from prostate cancer to multiple myeloma to NSCLC to gastric cancer.