Howard Chang will take over as the big biotech's chief scientific officer, succeed Ray Deshaies as senior VP of research, and report directly to R&D chief Jay Bradner.
Howard Chang, a top biotechnology researcher and longtime professor at Stanford University, will join Amgen as chief scientific officer on Dec. 16, the company said Wednesday.
Chang will also assume the title of senior vice president of research and will report to Jay Bradner, the executive vice president of research and development who currently serves as chief scientific officer. Chang will oversee operations in key research hubs around the world and research into therapies for rare diseases, cancer, inflammation and cardiometabolic conditions, Amgen said.
In Chang, Amgen is getting an award-winning scientist known for expertise in genetics and RNA research, particularly in long-noncoding RNAs. But Chang is also an experienced industry player, whose resume includes co-founding the biotech companies Orbital Therapeutics, Cartography Biosciences, Boundless Bio and Accent Therapeutics.
"Howard is one of our generation's foremost physician-scientists, with expertise in human genetics and a profound ability to distill complex disease biology into clarified targets," Bradner said in Amgen's statement announcing his appointment.
Chang will have his work cut out for him at Amgen, which is facing the impending losses of market exclusivity for best sellers including Prolia/Xgeva, Enbrel, Repatha and Otezla. In a recent report, analyst firm Leerink Partners ranked Amgen among the top five large-cap biopharma companies exposed to patent expirations for blockbuster drugs in the 2025-2030 period.
To make up for declining sales of older medicines, Amgen has been looking both outside and inside the company for growth. Last year, Amgen completed a $28 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics. And it's been focusing on experimental treatments for immune-system disorders, prostate cancer and obesity, an area of particular interest to investors with the booming demand for drugs like Ozempic.
Chang, for his part, expressed confidence that his new company will succeed. "Amgen holds a storied place in the biotech industry," Chang posted on LinkedIn. "I'm confident we can push the boundaries of what is possible in science and medicine."
Chang holds undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University as well as a Ph.D. in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He completed his residency and a fellowship in dermatology at Stanford and has been on the faculty at the university since 2004.