Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. Appoints Executive Vice President of Drug Development for the Americas

PARSIPPANY, N.J., Aug. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. announced that Mahmoud Ghazzi, MD, PhD has joined Daiichi Sankyo Pharma Development (DSPD) as its new executive vice president of drug development for the Americas region.

DSPD, headquartered in Edison, NJ, is responsible for the regional delivery of global clinical trials throughout North, South and Central America. Dr. Ghazzi will work closely with the global development regional heads in Asia, Japan and Europe to ensure delivery of clinical development programs. He will be responsible for overseeing critical regional functions such as Clinical Development, Regulatory Affairs, Translational Medicine & Clinical Pharmacology and Clinical Safety & Pharmacovigilance, among others. He also will serve as the co-chair for the Daiichi Sankyo Global Clinical Committee, which ensures that all programs meet the highest standards of clinical excellence.  

"Our organization is dedicated to creating innovative new medicines, as well as new methods of drug discovery and delivery, that can broaden our pipeline of drugs to help patients with unmet medical needs," said Glenn Gormley, MD, PhD, Chief Science Officer and President of DSPD.  "Dr. Ghazzi will keep us focused on those goals and will ensure we deliver high quality, innovative products to patients as quickly as we can."

Previously, Dr. Ghazzi served in roles of increasing responsibility at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Pfizer where he developed and managed clinical trials for cardiovascular, metabolism, obesity and diabetes drugs.

"In today's pharmaceutical landscape, success hinges on quality, clinical excellence and ultimately developing innovative medicines that offer patients greater clinical benefit over existing therapies," said Dr. Ghazzi.  "I am happy to be part of an organization that continues to sharpen its focus in these areas and that continues to develop products that address significant health issues for illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, infections disease and cancer."

Following the completion of his medical education from Damascus University, Dr. Ghazzi completed a master's degree in Public Health and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He then joined the faculty of The University of Michigan Reproductive Sciences Program and was the recipient of several grants and awards, including a National Institutes of Health Physician Scientist award.

About Daiichi Sankyo

The Daiichi Sankyo Group is dedicated to the creation and supply of innovative pharmaceutical products to address the diversified, unmet medical needs of patients in both mature and emerging markets. While maintaining its portfolio of marketed pharmaceuticals for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and bacterial infections, the Group is engaged in the development of treatments for thrombotic disorders and focused on the discovery of novel oncology and cardiovascular-metabolic therapies. Furthermore, the Daiichi Sankyo Group has created a "Hybrid Business Model," which will respond to market and customer diversity and optimize growth opportunities across the value chain. For more information, please visit www.daiichisankyo.com

Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, is a member of the Daiichi Sankyo Group.  For more information on Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., please visit www.dsi.com.

SOURCE Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.