Pfizer is making a prominent home for the scientists it is gaining in the $62 billion deal to buy Wyeth.
The pharma giant says that once it has completed its merger with Wyeth it will break up R&D into two big pieces: one for traditional drug development and another for biotech therapies and vaccines. And each division will have its own chief in the new research structure, with Wyeth's top scientist gaining one of the top jobs.
"Creating two distinct, but complementary, research organizations, led by the top scientist from each company, will provide sharper focus, less bureaucracy and clearer accountability in drug discovery," Pfizer Chief Executive Jeffry Kindler (photo).
Pfizer's current R&D chief, Martin Mackay (photo), will oversee small-molecule research and Wyeth R&D chief Mikael Dolsten (photo) will be in charge of the large molecules that are at the center of biotech development. Emilio Emini (photo), the head of Wyeth's vaccine work, and Wyeth's head of discovery, Menelas Pangalos (photo), will be chief scientific officers at Pfizer for vaccines and neuroscience.
- here's the Pfizer release
- read the report from the Wall Street Journal