AstraZeneca's head of R&D for oncology dies at 61

AstraZeneca Plc's head of oncology research, Jose Baselga, has died at the age of 61, the company said on Sunday.

"An outstanding scientific leader, José leaves a lasting legacy in the scientific community and here at AstraZeneca," the company's Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot said in a statement.

The statement did not give a cause of death but Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia said Baselga had died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare brain condition.

Baselga joined AstraZeneca in 2019. He previously worked as Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's chief medical officer. He had also been chief of hematology/oncology at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and a professor at Harvard Medical School.

Reuters