Novartis Vaccines appoints new EU medical affairs director

Novartis Vaccines has announced the recruitment of Pfizer's Dr John Porter as its new medical affairs director for northern Europe.

Dr Porter joins the company from Pfizer UK, where he served as UK medical team lead and played a key role in supporting a range of therapeutic areas, including vaccination.

He will be tasked with building medical capability across the Novartis Vaccines business, building on his extensive pharmaceutical industry knowledge, as well as his more than 12 years of clinical experience.

His appointment coincides with Novartis' plans to introduce Bexsero, a newly-approved meningococcal group B vaccine, to the UK market.

Mark Collinson, head of Novartis Vaccines' UK, Ireland and Nordic countries division, said: "His wealth of experience in the field of vaccination makes him the ideal candidate for this position and we look forward to welcoming him to the team."

This comes after Novartis appointed new heads of its Alcon and Sandoz subsidiaries earlier this month.