Merck Serono appoints new biosimilar business head

Merck Serono has announced the appointment of Simon Sturge as the new head of its biosimilars business, effective as of March 1st 2014.

Mr Sturge joins the company from Boehringer Ingelheim, where he served as head of biopharmaceuticals. Prior to this, he served as chief executive of OctoPlus and Vernalis, as well as previously holding key roles at Lonza Biologics, Celltech Biologics and Astra.

His appointment will help to drive Merck Serono's growth in the increasingly profitable and important biosimilars market, having established the unit in 2012 to develop innovative therapies for oncology and inflammatory disorders.

He succeeds Thierry Hulot, who was responsible for founding the business division before moving to the global manufacturing and supply unit at the end of 2013.

Stefan Oschmann, the member of Merc KGaA's executive board responsible for the pharmaceutical businesses, said: "Merck has all the capabilities to compete in biosimilars and we expect significant growth of this market by the end of the decade."

This comes after the company appointed Dr Steven Hildemann, formerly of Merck Sharp and Dohme, as its new global chief medical officer last month.