Anders Ekblom is appointed to the role of executive vice president of development, effective January 1, 2009, when he will also join AstraZeneca’s senior executive team.
Mr Ekblom is currently vice president and head of global clinical development at AstraZeneca. Mr Ekblom will assume full management responsibility for the development organization at the end of January 2009 when Mr Patterson steps down from his operational position. Mr Patterson will retire from the board of AstraZeneca on March 31, 2009.
David Brennan, CEO of AstraZeneca, said: “John has made an important and lasting contribution to the business over the course of his career with AstraZeneca. I’m delighted to welcome Anders to our senior executive team. He brings strong leadership and valuable experience to the role, having worked in both discovery and development, most recently leading substantial improvements in clinical development.”