The R&D Version of Musical Chairs

Martin Mackay is leaving his spot as the head of research and development at Pfizer to join AstraZeneca, where he will serve in the same capacity, reports Fierce Biotech. The Wall Street Journal's Health Blog adds that Mackay shared that spot at Pfizer with Mikael Dolsten, who was head of R&D at Wyeth, and Dolsten will now be the sole person leading that section at Pfizer. The R&D position at AstraZeneca that Mackay is taking is new, and he will have the drug discovery and drug development section reporting to him. "Martin's appointment to this new role will provide a single point of senior accountability as we continue to make the changes necessary to improve the productivity and efficiency of our research and development organization," says AstraZeneca CEO's David Brennan in a statement.