Alexion Pharmaceuticals’s Board of Directors has appointed Ludwig N. Hantson, Ph.D., as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors, to succeed David R. Brennan, who has led the company as Interim CEO since December 2016.
According to Alexion, Brennan will remain on the Board of Directors. The company previously announced the Board expects to appoint Mr. Brennan as Chairman at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders scheduled for May 10.
Dr. Hantson most recently served as President and CEO of Baxalta, a company focused on development of therapies for orphan and underserved diseases in hematology, immunology and oncology, with 20 new product candidates, and several new product launches globally. Prior to Baxalta, Dr. Hantson was President of Baxter BioScience, a $6 billion global business unit of Baxter where he drove significant value into its pipeline by adding 25 New Molecular Entities and Biologics License Applications, and launching 13 new products.
Hantson said: “I believe Alexion is in a strong position to continue to advance the science and build upon its global capabilities to serve even more patients with devastating and rare diseases in over 50 markets. Alexion is on-track to achieving its near-term priorities, including: growing its complement and metabolic franchises; obtaining approval of Soliris in refractory gMG; and advancing its pipeline programs including ALXN1210 and eculizumab in relapsing NMOSD. I also look forward to building our future R&D and commercial growth strategies which will be guided by the Company’s long-standing goal of transforming lives.”