AstraZeneca grabs Roche head

Frankfurt: AstraZeneca Plc has poached Pascal Soriot from rival Roche Holding AG to be its new chief executive, hoping his track record in drug innovation and dealmaking can revive a company battered by clinical trial failures and patent expiries.

Soriot, a 53-year-old French national, has been chief operating officer since 2010 of Roche’s pharmaceuticals division - a business with a turnover $34 billion, making it the same size as AstraZeneca. He will take up his new job on October 1, AstraZeneca said yesterday.

Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca has been without a permanent CEO since June 1, following the abrupt departure of David Brennan, who was criticised by investors for failing to do enough to shore up the group as a wave of drug patents expired.The British-based company’s chief financial officer, Simon Lowth, has acted as interim CEO since Brennan’s exit and will continue to do so until Soriot arrives.