George Scangos to head up Biogen

Biogen Idec has appointed George Scangos chief executive officer, with effect from 15 July.

Scangos will join the company from Exelixis, where he has served as president and chief executive since 1996.

Prior to that he spent ten years at Bayer, joining as a staff scientist and rising to president of Bayer Biotechnology, where he was responsible for research, business development, process development, manufacturing, engineering and quality assurance of Bayer's biological products.

He said: "As I approach day one, I see some clear priorities for [Biogen Idec]. We have significant opportunities to advance the commercial business by driving the performance of Avonex, Tysabri and Rituxan, preparing our organisation and the marketplace for the potential launch of five significant new products over a three-year period, and strengthening existing partnerships and forging new alliances.

“Another priority is advancing our promising pipeline which includes hiring a passionate and talented new head of R&D. I also plan to instill a sense of urgency in every aspect of the business to ensure that we execute at the highest levels and capitalise on our growth opportunities. We have a lot ahead of us, and I'm eager to get started."