Expensive drug-coated stents -- used to prop open clogged coronary arteries -- are not worth using in many patients, Swiss researchers said on Friday.

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MSNBC.com

ANDREW JACK. Financial Times. London (UK):Nov 2, 2007. p. 7

Andrew Witty is in good company as he gears up to take charge of the world's second largest pharmaceutical group next spring. His recent nomination to head GlaxoSmithKline marks the seventh example in the past two years of a change in chief executive among the world's 10 leading drug-makers.

While each of the handovers has unique aspects, the characteristics of the new generation of pharma leaders - and the way in which they were selected - reveal some common patterns that highlight evolutions and challenges in a sector going through rapid and painful transition.

"This is a tremendously difficult environment," says Jean-Pierre Garnier, the outgoing head of GSK, who describes life for a chief executive in the pharmaceutical sector today as being "in the grinder". "You need energy and resilience. It's not a job for the faint-hearted."

The first trend in appointments is the unprecedented pace of senior corporate turnover itself. Daniel Vasella, although only 53, has become the doyen of the sector, a decade after he was named the first chief executive of Novartis, the Swiss group formed by the merger of Sandoz and Ciba-Geigy, in 1996.

Age, corporate governance practices and scandals have since taken their toll on most of his peers. Even Jean-Francois Dehecq, 67, the powerful head of Sanofi-Aventis of France - a group he created through mergers over 30 years - stepped aside as chief executive at the start of this year in favour of his deputy Gerard Le Fur, although he remains chairman.

The turnover of senior executives partly reflects growing turmoil in the sector. The valuations of most of the world's large pharmaceutical companies have slumped in the past few years, as the threats from patent expiries and generic competition grow while innovation to refill their pipelines with new medicines has lagged behind.

New appointments have also provided a way to transform existing corporate cultures. When David Brennan replaced Sir Tom McKillop, a chemist by training, as chief executive of AstraZeneca at the start of 2006, it provided a trigger for the group to belatedly boost its biotechnology activities, notably with the acquisition of CAT and MedImmune.

The second hallmark of the new generation of leaders is relative youth. At 43, Mr Witty is among the youngest of the batch. But he is beaten by Severin Schwan, 40, who was in July put forward as the new chief executive of Roche of Switzerland from next year. Franz Humer, who is relinquishing the daily management role at Roche while remaining chairman, says that it was important to select someone from a different generation, with whom he could get on but who was "not exactly like me".

Arthur Higgins, himself named head of Bayer Healthcare in 2006 aged 49, argues that his peer group of relatively young pharmaceutical leaders is more battle-scarred than its predecessors. "We have grown up understanding that the world is not fair and have got over it," he says.

A third characteristic of the new pharma leaders is that they are highly international, at a time when existing markets are coming under growing price pressure. AstraZeneca, traditionally with its roots in the UK and Sweden, refocused on the world's largest drugs market by bringing in Mr Brennan from the US.

GSK, historically based in the UK, has in Mr Witty reverted to placing a British citizen in the top slot, but has stressed the importance of his experience in many other parts of the world. That includes senior postings in Africa and Asia, where some of the fastest global growth in drug research and sales is taking place.

Mr Le Fur is French, like his company, but he stresses that since he began the job at the start of this year he has substantially broadened the size and backgrounds of his executive team. He stresses the symbolism of making English a more frequent working language in high-level meetings.

A fourth aspect of the recent appointments is that, while executives are largely drawn from the pharmaceuticals sector, few today - with the exception of Mr Le Fur - have a background in research and development. "It's rare enough to find someone good at both research and development, and rationally if you've got someone really good, they should stay there," says Mark Byford, a senior life sciences executive at Egon Zehnder, the executive recruitment consultancy. "Standing up in front of the City talking about market share does not always come easily to them."

Mr Brennan has a background in sales and marketing. So does Mr Witty, together with long experience in government affairs and political lobbying - likely to play a growing role in negotiating prices in the future. Jeff Kindler, appointed last year to replace Hank McKinnell at Pfizer, is a lawyer, reflecting the growing importance of litigation and regulatory requirements.

A final feature is that nearly all of the new chief executives have been selected from within rather than recruited from outside their companies - let alone from beyond the pharma sector. Mr Witty won out against two other GSK executives, in a process that may have demoralised the losers but sent a message that the board had confidence in the company's own employees.

Raymond Gilmartin quit abruptly at Merck in 2005, a few months after it withdrew the painkiller Vioxx - but not before the board had spent time resolving to appoint the Merck "lifer" Richard Clark to replace him.

Mr McKinnell, dogged by problems of Pfizer's falling share price, poor internal morale and criticism of his high remuneration, was ousted earlier than expected, but only once Mr Kindler had been judged the best of three internal candidates to replace him.

Similarly, Bernard Poussot, the long-standing chief operations officer at Wyeth, took observers by surprise with the speed of the announcement in September that he would replace Bob Essner, who remains chairman but has come under pressure after a series of setbacks in recent months.

The exception is Bristol Myers Squibb, where Peter Dolan was dismissed abruptly a year ago at the recommendation of a court- appointed monitor following a series of scandals and legal actions. His replacement was James Cornelius from Guidant, a medical devices company.

"On average, it adds value to look outside when the predecessor has failed," says Mr Byford. Internal selections, on the other hand, risk alienating those who lose out. Mr Kindler's rivals have since left Pfizer, and some expect at least one of Mr Witty's senior colleagues to do the same.

The challenge as they seek new jobs is that, with consolidation continuing and the current round of big pharma appointments coming to an end, they have fewer places where they can look for equivalent work.

But with the sector still deeply troubled, the potential for further disruption and some urgent searches for external appointments could yet give them - and others from beyond the pharma sector - chances in the future.

Link to Articles

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01/11/2007 - Just a day before they were due to come into force, GlaxoSmithKline has won a court case to block controversial changes to patent rules.

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In-Pharmatechnologist.com

01/11/2007 - For the first time, scientists have found a way to target viral antigens deep inside a cancer tumour, and the result is a new therapy that could treat or even prevent the disease.

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DrugResearcher.com

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NYTimes.com