AstraZeneca has taken another big step in its plan to create a major new biologics company under the MedImmune name. Cambridge Antibody Technology has been renamed MedImmune as AstraZeneca concentrates its biotech activity under one corporate banner with $1.3 billion in revenue.
John Stageman, Ph.D., vice president of AstraZeneca biopharmaceutical strategic planning, assumes the role of interim site head in Cambridge. "AstraZeneca's biologics capabilities have been enhanced significantly by the acquisitions of CAT and MedImmune to create a more robust, highly competitive and fully integrated biotechnology business," says Stageman. The British press, though, has made it clear that there are quite a few people at CAT who believe that AstraZeneca's move amounts to a stab in the back.
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