Eisai Appoints Chief Clinical Officer of Oncology Biz

Eisai Inc., the U.S. pharmaceutical subsidiary of Eisai Co., Ltd., has appointed Dr. Richard Woodman as Chief Clinical Officer of its Oncology Business Group. In this role, Dr. Woodman will oversee the strategic and operational leadership of the company's global oncology clinical development functions, including clinical research, clinical operations, imaging, medical writing, data services, biostatistics and regulatory strategy. He will also serve as a member of the Oncology Executive Leadership team.

Dr. Woodman has 18 years of pharmaceutical experience in several different functional areas at both large and small biotech organizations. He will lead the clinical team's development of Eisai's next generation oncology products by managing the design protocols and implementation of all oncology clinical trials. He will also oversee all collaboration development projects with partner companies, as well as interpret the results of all clinical trials in preparation for applications to global regulatory authorities, including the FDA, EMA and PDMA.

Dr. Woodman previously served as Chief Medical Officer and Head of Research and Development at Onconova Therapeutics, where he was responsible for its late- and early-stage oncology development programs. Before Onconova, he spent 12 years at Novartis, serving as Head of U.S. Oncology Clinical Development and Medical Affairs, after initially holding the position of Franchise Head for Hematology in Global Medical Affairs. Dr. Woodman began his pharmaceutical career as a Senior Medical Director at Johnson & Johnson, where he led the oncology franchise at Ortho Biotech Products, LP.