Amgen names CEO chairman, makes other board moves
Biotech drugmaker Amgen names CEO Robert Bradway as chairman, makes other board appointments
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) -- Amgen Inc.'s new CEO will soon take on a second post, as chairman of the board of the world's largest biotech company.
The company, based in Thousand Oaks, Calif., announced late Thursday that Chief Executive Robert A. Bradway will also become chairman as of Jan. 1. As planned, Bradway will succeed his predecessor as CEO and chairman, Kevin Sharer, who is retiring on Dec. 31.
Bradway, 49, became Amgen's CEO in May. He has been with the company since 2006, serving as vice president for operations strategy and then as chief financial officer.
Amgen also said that Robert A. Eckert, former CEO at toymaker Mattel Inc. and now its non-executive chairman, will join the 14-member board of directors on Jan. 1. At the same time, Vance D. Coffman, a former Lockheed Martin Corp. CEO who has been an Amgen board member since 2007, will become the board's lead independent director.
Amgen makes biologic medicines, which are produced in living cells rather than by mixing chemicals in vats. Its drugs include the anemia treatments Aranesp and Epogen, Enbrel for immune disorders and Prolia for osteoporosis.
