Pfizer’s UK managing director elected as ABPI president

Pfizer's UK managing director Jonathan Emms has been elected as the new president of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), effective as of April 2014.

Mr Emms will succeed Deepak Khanna – the senior vice-president and UK managing director of Merck Sharp and Dohme – following the ABPI's next annual general meeting and will serve for one year, with the option of standing for re-election for an additional 12 months.

He has been with Pfizer since 1999 and was promoted to his current role in charge of UK operations last year. Mr Emms has held a number of key positions at Pfizer and former employer GlaxoSmithKline, while he is also a current member of the ABPI board of management.

Stephen Whitehead, chief executive of the ABPI, said: "I have no doubt that Jonathan will provide strong leadership to the ABPI and the industry as a whole."

Last week, Pfizer provided details of new updates to its clinical trial data access policy, which aim to ensure more open and transparent access to its medical research information.