AP Pharma appoints Robert Rosen as senior VP and chief commercial officer
pharmafile | October 22, 2012 | Appointment | Business Services, Manufacturing and Production, Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | AP Pharma, Robert Rosen
Specialty pharma firm AP Pharma has announced the appointment of Robert Rosen as senior vice president and chief commercial officer.
Rosen will oversee all of AP Pharma’s commercial activities, including the commercial launch of APF530, the Company’s lead product candidate for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, if approved.
Rosen also will continue to serve as a director of the Company. “We are delighted to bring Robert on to the AP Pharma management team,” said John Whelan, president and chief executive officer.
“Robert’s deep and extensive experience commercialising oncology drugs will be instrumental as we enter the commercialisation phase of the Company.”
From 2005 to 2011, Rosen served as global head of oncology at Bayer HealthCare, where he was responsible for the development of the global oncology business unit for regions that included the Americas, Europe, Japan, and Asia Pacific.
During his tenure at Bayer Healthcare, he led the launch of Nexavar for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma. Nexavar’s worldwide sales in 2011 were $1.0 billion. He also led premarket activities for regorafenib for gastrointestinal stromal tumours and colon cancer and alpharadin for prostate cancer.
From 2002 to 2005, Rosen was vice president of the oncology business unit at Sanofi-Synthèlabo, where he was responsible for the development of Sanofi’s US oncology business and the launch of Eloxatin for colon cancer.
“Unfortunately, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, or CINV, remains a debilitating side effect that can limit the effectiveness of cancer treatment,” said Rosen. “I look forward to working with the AP Pharma team to help bring APF530, a promising therapeutic option for both acute- and delayed-onset CINV, to physicians and patients worldwide.”
