Pharmaceutical company Astellas reported on Tuesday the election of Bernhardt G Zeiher, MD, FCCP, FACP, as its chief medical officer (CMO) as well as part of its executive leadership team.

Effective 1 April 2018, Dr Zeiher will focus on integrating and enhancing the delivery of its global innovative pipeline, support the appropriate use of its products, continue to lead from Northbrook headquarters for M&D and Americas operations, reporting directly to its president and CEO, Kenji Yasukawa, PhD.

However, Dr Zeiher will continue serving as president of Development, while overseeing all other functions of the company's Medical and Development (M&D) organisation, including Clinical and Research Quality Assurance, Medical Affairs, Pharmacovigilance, Planning & Administration and Regulatory Affairs.

Since joining Astellas in 2010, Dr Zeiher has worked as vice president and Therapeutic Area leader for Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, senior vice president and Therapeutic Area Head for Immunology, Infectious Diseases and Transplant, executive vice president and therapeutic area head for CNS and Pain Programmes as well as president of Development .

Earlier in his career, Dr Zeiher has served as the vice president of the Inflammation/Immunology therapeutic area at Pfizer.