Some readers may remember the saga of Jose Baselga from last fall, when ProPublica and the NY Times took him to task for not disclosing financial ties in some of his research articles, which led to his resignation from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and from the Board of Directors of Bristol-Myers Squibb. Most recently, in December 2018, Dr. Baselga resigned from his position as editor-in-chief of Cancer Discovery.
Fortunately for Dr. Baselga, however, our prediction that he would be hired in less than one year has come true. On Monday, January 7, 2019, AstraZeneca PLC announced that it appointed Dr. Baselga to lead oncology research and development as part of an overhaul designed to get drugs to market faster.
Baselga Hired by AstraZeneca
Baselga’s role is certainly a large one, with the responsibility of cancer-drug development from start to finish. This role overhauls and simplifies the company’s structure, as previously, early stage research and late stage clinical trials were managed separately.
In an interview, AstraZeneca Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot said that the company’s chief ethics officer was satisfied that the omissions Baselga previously came under fire for were accidental. Soriot went on to note that Baselga is “one of the best scientists in the world” and that you “can’t follow the science if you don’t have the best scientists.”
Dr. Soriot welcomed Dr. Baselga in the announcement, referring to him as an “outstanding scientific leader in Oncology,” and going on to say, “José’s research and clinical achievements have led to the development of several innovative medicines, and he is an international thought leader in cancer care and clinical research. José’s expertise adds further scientific and leadership excellence to our already strong team and will help us to continue building a world-class R&D unit for Oncology.”
Dr. Baselga seems to be pleased with his new position as well, stating, “After more than 30 years helping develop medicines in this area, it is a true privilege to now have the opportunity to work with the tremendous Oncology expertise at AstraZeneca. Bringing the discovery through to late-stage development chain into one unit will make the process more agile and accelerate our work to bring transformative medicines to patients. This really is a dream job.”
Other AZ Changes
In addition to hiring Baselga in this role, the company made other organizational changes to support innovation and commercial successes in its main therapy areas. Among the changes is the development of R&D and commercial units in the company’s biopharmaceuticals (cardiovascular, renal & metabolism (CVRM) and respiratory) area. Mene Pangalos, who was previously responsible for AstraZeneca’s Innovative Medicines and Early Development Biotech Unit, will head the biopharmaceuticals R&D unit. According to Soriot, the changes to align R&D with the commercial units were made to support what is likely to be a period of sustained growth.
The Moral of the Story Is…
The continuing story of Jose Baselga goes to show that if you are a gifted cancer researcher, as Dr. Baselga has proven to be over his career, a few mistakes are not reason enough to be cast out from society. It’s also an interesting thought that perhaps his resignation from Cancer Discovery in December was not connected to the ProPublica piece as initially thought, but instead connected to discussions with AstraZeneca about him coming to work with them.
We all make mistakes, and kudos to AstraZeneca for realizing that our small mistakes should not define our careers.