Bristol-Myers Squibb names SVP for business development

Bristol-Myers Squibb has announced that Frances Heller is joining the company from Exelixis in the role of senior vice-president (SVP) for business development.

Ms Heller is taking up the same position she occupied at Exelixis, where she played a key role in organising a number of major transactions with transformative effects on the company.

Previous employers include large-scale healthcare organisations such as Novartis and Celera Genomics, while she also serves on the board of directors for several biotechnology firms and universities.

She stated that she is looking forward to helping Bristol-Myers Squibb further its business development aims through an innovative transactional strategy.

Lamberto Andreotti, chief executive officer at Bristol-Myers Squibb, said: "With broad experience across both the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, I believe Fran will be an important addition to my diverse management team and to the company."

Last week, the firm announced a new collaboration with Vanderbilt University, which will see the organisations working together to develop new Parkinson's disease therapies.