Changes in AstraZeneca's Leadership: Iskra Reic Appointed Global Executive, Responsible for Strategy Across Five Continents

AstraZeneca officially announced on the evening of December 4 that Ms. Iskra Reic has been appointed as Executive Vice President and Head of International Business, succeeding Mr. Wang Lei, who has temporarily stepped down to cooperate with related investigations in China. Ms. Reic will be fully responsible for AstraZeneca's overall strategic planning and execution across a wide range of regions, including China, Asia and Eurasia, the Middle East and Africa, Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand.

Recently, Ms. Reic led AstraZeneca's newly established Vaccine and Immunotherapy Business Unit, overseeing early and late-stage development of the department's product pipeline and portfolio, including the development of COVID-19 vaccines, respiratory syncytial virus vaccines, and monoclonal antibodies, as well as key areas such as strategic partnerships, acquisitions, medical affairs, and commercial operations.

Since joining AstraZeneca in 2001, Ms. Reic has held several senior leadership roles within the company, including Global Executive Vice President and Head of Business for Europe and Canada, and since 2021, she has been the Global Executive Vice President and Head of the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Business. She has also held senior positions in Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, the Middle East, and Africa, and has been a core member of AstraZeneca's senior management team since 2017.

As Global Executive Vice President and Head of the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Business, Ms. Reic will continue to lead the early and late-stage development of the department’s product pipeline and portfolio, covering key areas such as COVID-19 vaccines, respiratory syncytial virus vaccines, and monoclonal antibodies, while also managing strategic collaborations and acquisitions, medical affairs, and commercial operations.

Recently, AstraZeneca has been active in personnel appointments. Not long ago, the company announced a new appointment in its Oncology Business Unit, appointing Dr. Bob Li, an Asian scientist from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), as the Global Medical Affairs Head for Oncology, reporting directly to David Fredrickson, the head of AstraZeneca’s Oncology Business Unit.

The Chinese market is crucial for AstraZeneca, being its second-largest market globally, following the U.S. Sales in the Chinese market account for about 13% of the company’s global sales. In recent years, AstraZeneca has made significant investments in the Chinese market and has placed particular emphasis on building and developing an ecosystem in China, strengthening close collaborations with local healthcare institutions and supply chain partners.