(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pfizer Inc today named Garry A. Nicholson as Senior Vice President, General Manager of the company’s newly created Oncology Business Unit, reporting to Ian Read, President of Pfizer Worldwide Pharmaceutical Operations. Nicholson will serve as head of Pfizer's oncology franchise, with direct responsibility for clinical development, medical affairs, commercial development, sales and marketing.

“Garry is a highly regarded and accomplished executive whose experience in the global oncology market makes him exceptionally qualified to lead this important new growth area for Pfizer,” Mr. Read said. “The Oncology market is expected to grow significantly in the next decade. This is being driven by breakthrough science, the rapid uptake of new agents that meet high unmet medical need and treatments that are enabling cancer patients to live longer.”

Mr. Nicholson is a senior pharmaceutical executive with extensive experience in product development, marketing, sales and general management on a worldwide basis.

Mr. Nicholson joins Pfizer from Eli Lilly and Company, where he spent more than 10 years as Executive Director of the U.S. Oncology Business Unit and subsequently in an expanded role as Global Oncology Platform Leader. In the latter role, Mr. Nicholson was responsible for the global Oncology franchise, including the Oncology therapeutic area strategy, portfolio management, Phase II/III development, global integration of Oncology medical and marketing strategies, regulatory submissions and approvals, and licensing and partnerships. In addition, Mr. Nicholson was directly accountable for the company’s Oncology drug development budget and review of country and regional forecasts and income statements. He also played a key leadership role in business development and licensing initiatives in Oncology. Under Mr. Nicholson’s leadership, Lilly’s global Oncology sales exceeded $2.5 billion in 2007.

From 2004 to 2005, Mr. Nicholson served as the Executive Director of the Corporate Six Sigma Task force, where he was responsible for driving significant operational improvements across Lilly’s entire business. Mr. Nicholson recruited and deployed Six Sigma team participants and led implementation efforts for the Sales, Marketing and Medical Affairs teams in all Lilly geographies.

Mr. Nicholson has a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and an MBA from the University of South Carolina, Columbia.

“This is a very exciting time to join Ian and the rest of Pfizer’s leadership as they seek to seize promising opportunities in the growing global oncology market,” Mr. Nicholson said. “I believe Pfizer has the most promising and extensive oncology pipeline in the industry and look forward to leading this important new business.”

On March 5th, Pfizer announced the establishment of a new Business Unit focused solely on oncology in its Worldwide Pharmaceutical Group. The unit will have the resources to seize growth opportunities to strengthen Pfizer’s research investment in oncology, a market expected to more than double in the next decade. The Oncology Business Unit will enable the Company to expedite launches of novel oncology agents, as well as to focus research efforts on cancers common in Asia, including those of the liver, esophagus and nasopharynx.

Founded in 1849, Pfizer is the world's largest research-based pharmaceutical company. Pfizer is taking new approaches to advancing better health as it discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers quality, safe and effective prescription medicines to treat and help prevent disease for both people and animals. Pfizer also partners with healthcare providers, governments and local communities around the world to expand access to medicines and to provide better quality health care and health system support. At Pfizer, more than 85,000 colleagues in more than 90 countries work every day to help people stay happier and healthier longer and to reduce the human and economic burden of disease worldwide.