Roche appoints new oncology research leader

Roche has announced the appointment of Dr William Pao as global head of the oncology disease and translational area at Roche Pharma Research and Early Development.

Effective as of May 1st 2014, he will be responsible for leading Roche's discovery, translational medicine and early development of innovative cancer medicines, and will contribute to the company's prominent position in this field.

Currently, Dr Pao is a professor of medicine and head of the haematology-oncology division at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the US, where he and his research team have contributed to more than 160 publications about cancer biology, genomics and treatment.

Dr John Reed, global head of Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, said: "His broad expertise provides Roche with a leader who will ensure our growth and who will position us for continued success as we strive to transform science into medicine."

This comes after the group confirmed the appointment of Dr Christoph Franz as its new chairman at its annual general meeting earlier this month.