The biggest pharma manufacturer in England has persuaded an industry veteran to join its team and increase the company’s potential to produce blockbuster drugs.
According to a report in Reuters, GlaxoSmithKline recently hired Hal Barron, who had been working at Calico. Barron also spent many years at Roche and oversaw the company’s development of several major cancer drugs including Avastin, Tarceva and Perjeta.
GSK has struggled to hit pay dirt with a multibillion-dollar drug — a situation the company hopes to change.
In addition to hiring Barron, the company plans to drop 30 drug research projects while it narrows its R&D focus. Moving forward, GSK plans to allocate 80 percent of its R&D focus on treatments for HIV, infectious diseases, cancer and immuno-inflammation.
Barron, who will serve as president of R&D at GSK, will be paid a base salary of $1.7 million with an additional $1.7 million in bonuses and $4.25 million in stock options.
Filed Under: Drug Discovery
