Pascal Soirot, the chief executive officer of Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is set to depart the company to become the new CEO of Teva. The report released by Israeli business newspaper Calcalist, said that Soirot had spoken with Teva’s Chairman and its recruitment committee and has agreed to head up the Israeli pharmaceutical company.
Teva is the world’s largest generic drug maker, with a revenue of $21.9 billion. News of the departure caused AstraZeneca’s share price to dip, with investors worried about the fate of the drugs giant.
Soirot is expected to fill up the vacuum left by the departure of previous CEO Erez Vigodman in February. Teva is also in need of a chief financial officer following the resignation of Eyal Deshesh in June. The newspaper also reported that Soirot will be paid twice as much as the previous chief, while also receiving a sign on bonus of around $20 million.
It is unclear if the French born Soirot will be required to relocate to Israel, where AstraZeneca also has a presence. Soirot has been the CEO of AstraZeneca since 2012. His tenure saw a push for investments in R&D.
His departure comes at an ill-opportune time for the company, as the results for a new immuno-oncology (IO) drug are due this summer. If successful, it will give AstraZeneca a strong position in the $50 billion IO market. Neither company has made a statement on the report.