Pascal Soriot appointed CEO of AstraZeneca

LONDON — Pascal Soriot has been appointed as AstraZeneca’s chief executive officer, the company announced. Simon Lowth remains as AstraZeneca’s interim CEO until Pascal Soriot joins. At that point, Lowth will resume his responsibilities as CFO and continue to serve as an executive director on the AstraZeneca PLC Board.

A French national, 53-year-old Pascal Soriot joins AstraZeneca from Roche AG where he served as COO of the company’s pharmaceuticals division since 2010. In his current role he has global responsibility for development, manufacturing, commercial operations and administration for a pharmaceuticals business that recorded sales of $34 billion in 2011 and has approximately 44,000 employees worldwide.

Prior to that Soriot was CEO of Genentech, where he was credited with leading the successful merger between the San Francisco-based biologics business and Roche. Soriot joined the pharmaceutical industry in 1986 and has worked in senior management roles in the US, Asia and Europe.