Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge, MA, US-based biotechnology company focused on developing medicines to treat cystic fibrosis, hepatitis C, rheumatoid arthritis and other life-threatening diseases, has hired Jeffrey Chodakewitz as Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President.
Chodakewitz has more than 20 years of experience leading global development organisations in the biopharmaceutical industry, including roles as Senior Vice President of late-stage global development and Vice President of early-stage development at Merck.
As head of Vertex's Global Medicines Development and Medical Affairs department, he will oversee all global clinical development programmes, medical affairs and other related functions.
Following a planned transition period, Vertex's current Chief Medical Officer, Robert Kauffman, will retire in the second half of this year. He held senior roles in clinical development during more than 15 years at Vertex and has been its Chief Medical Officer since 2009.
Prior to Merck, Chodakewitz held multiple roles in academia and was an Associate Investigator for the Veterans Administration Medical Center, an Associate Research Scientist for the Yale University School of Medicine and Head of the HIV Outpatient Clinic for the Veterans Administration Medical Center in West Haven, CT.
