Amgen names new chief medical officer and development head

Amgen has named Dr Michael Severino as its new senior vice-president for global development and corporate chief medical officer.

Dr Severino succeeds Dr Sean Harper in the role after the latter moved into the position of executive vice-president of research and development, with the appointment taking effect immediately.

Since joining Amgen eight years ago, Dr Severino has occupied positions of increasing responsibility and most recently acted as vice-president for global development, while previous employers include Merck Sharpe and Dohme.

Dr Harper expressed confidence that Dr Severino's expertise and experience will allow him to oversee significant new medical developments with Amgen.

"Mike has demonstrated leadership across Amgen's global development organisation and has made significant contributions to the overall advancement of Amgen's pipeline," he added.

Last month, the company published its final fiscal report for 2011, a year which saw the firm achieve a four percent sales increase compared to 2010.