GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has appointed Luke Miels as the new president of its Global Pharmaceuticals business  with the upcoming departure of the current Global Pharmaceuticals president, Abbas Hussain. Mr. Hussain has decided to leave the company and has agreed to depart later in the year. Mr. Miels will report to Emma Walmsley, who is currently chief executive officer (CEO) designate and will become CEO of GSK in April 2017. His start date will be announced in due course, GSK said.

Mr. Miels will be responsible for a portfolio of medicines and vaccines with annual sales of more than £15 billion ($18 billion) and operations in over 100 markets.

Mr. Miels is currently executive vice president (EVP) of AstraZeneca’s European business and was previously EVP, Global Product and Portfolio Strategy, Global Medical Affairs, and Corporate Affairs. Over the course of his career, he has built strategic partnerships between research and development and the relevant commercial organizations to develop portfolio and product franchises at AstraZeneca, Roche, and Sanofi-Aventis.

At AstraZeneca, Mr. Miels has strengthened the company’s product portfolio by launching Tagrisso (osimertinib mesylate), a lung cancer drug, in the US; improving growth of the cardiovascular and metabolic portfolios; and through business development with investments in companies such as Acerta Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company based in Redwood City, California and Oss, The Netherlands, and the acquisition of ZS Pharma, a San Mateo, California-based biopharmaceutical company.

Mr. Miels joined AstraZeneca from Roche, where he was regional vice president Asia Pacific for the Pharmaceuticals Division. Before then, he held roles of increasing seniority at Sanofi-Aventis, including positions in Asia Pacific and the US. He also co-led the US integration of Sanofi and Aventis. Mr. Miels began his career in 1995 as a sales representative and product manager with AstraZeneca in Australia.

Mr. Hussain, who has decided to leave his role as president of GSK’s Global Pharmaceuticals business later this year, joined GSK in 2008 and has held roles of increasing responsibility within the company’s pharmaceutical business. He is a member of GSK’s executive team and a board member of ViiV Healthcare.

Under his leadership, pharmaceutical and vaccine commercial performance in the US and European businesses improved, and the company has delivered a series of new product launches. At the last reported quarter, new pharmaceutical sales represented 25% of total pharmaceutical sales.

Mr. Hussain has also built an emerging-markets pharmaceuticals business by volume and implemented a flexible approach to pricing across developing countries. He led the implementation of GSK’s new commercial operating model across more than 100 countries.

Source: GlaxoSmithKline for Luke Miels and Abba Hussain