Trade body the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has appointed Amgen director Virginia (Ginny) Acha as executive director in charge of research, medical and innovation.
Dr Acha is currently director of global regulatory and R&D policy across the EMEA region for Amgen, a role she has held for two years after joining the company from Pfizer.
She spent five years at Pfizer including periods as government affairs manager in the UK and director of international policy.
Dr Acha will take up her position at the ABPI in March at what will be a key time for the UK life sciences industry with the general election set to take place in May.
“These are exciting times in the science, development and delivery of medicines, and so it is a great privilege to be joining the ABPI now to help deliver our industry's views and aspirations for the future of healthcare,” she said.
In addition to her experience in the pharma industry Dr Acha has had an extensive career in academia holding posts at Imperial College London Business School, the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex and the Centre for Research in Innovation Management (CENTRIM) at the University of Brighton.
She is currently a visiting researcher in the innovation and entrepreneurship department at Imperial College Business School London.