Baxter appoints new head of bioscience research

Baxter has announced the appointment of Dr John Orloff as vice-president and global head of research and development for Baxter BioScience with immediate effect.

He joins the company from Merck Serono, where he served as global head of clinical development. Prior to this, he spent approximately ten years at Novartis, where he served in roles of increasing responsibility, including chief medical officer for global development.

In his new role at Baxter, he will be responsible for advancing the company's late-stage bioscience pipeline, enhancing the current research and development operating model and pursuing additional innovative opportunities for the business.

Dr Orloff boasts significant scientific and leadership expertise, including preclinical research, clinical development and medical and regulatory affairs.

Baxter's bioscience president Dr Ludwig Hantson said: "He will be a valuable member of our executive leadership team and a guiding force for effectively executing the development strategy for our organisation."

This comes after the firm earlier this month appointed Robert Hombach and James Saccaro as chief financial officers for its core organisation and for the new independent company that will be formed following the spinoff of its biopharmaceuticals unit.