AZN AstraZeneca PLC

By Denise Roland

LONDON--GlaxoSmithKline PLC's pharmaceuticals chief Abbas Hussain is to leave the company after missing out on the top job, and will be replaced by AstraZeneca PLC executive Luke Miels.

Mr. Hussain was one of a handful of top Glaxo executives beaten by former consumer healthcare boss Emma Walmsley to succeed outgoing Chief Executive Andrew Witty.

"Succession processes are challenging for everyone involved and, unfortunately, it is rare that all of those involved stay with the company," Mr. Witty, who will step down on March 31, said in a statement Thursday.

Mr. Hussain had spent eight years at Glaxo, first as head of its emerging markets and Asia Pacific region. In that role, he was key in navigating the business through a bribery scandal in China that eventually led to a criminal conviction of the local Glaxo subsidiary and a $500 million fine.

He was appointed head of the pharmaceuticals business in 2014 and in the last two years oversaw the launch of a succession of new drugs to replace revenue lost from the decline of older products such as asthma treatment Advair.

Ms. Walmsley's selection of Mr. Miels--a pharmaceuticals veteran--to replace Mr. Hussain will help allay concerns about her own lack of drug-development experience.

Morgan Stanley analysts said Mr. Miels offered a "good balance with CEO Walmsley's consumer knowledge." Ms. Walsmley spent most of her career at cosmetics company L'Oreal SA before joining Glaxo in 2010. Glaxo shares were up 0.2% at 1563 pence Thursday morning.

Mr. Miels is also Ms. Walmsley's first external appointment as CEO-designate. "Luke will bring a strong new voice to the decisions and choices we have to make for our pharmaceuticals business," she said.

Mr. Miels was considered a rising star at AstraZeneca, where he led the company's European business.

He started his pharmaceutical career at Astra in 1995, but left in 2000 for a role at Aventis before its acquisition by Sanofi SA. He then re-joined Astra from Roche Holding AG in 2014.

His departure will come as a blow to AstraZeneca at a time when the company is leaning heavily on a succession of new drug launches to return to sustained revenue growth.

An AstraZeneca spokeswoman said Mr. Miels would depart with immediate effect and that the company had started searching for a replacement. "In the interim, the Europe regional leadership team is very strong and continues to deliver operational excellence, including for our new product launches," she said. AstraZeneca shares were down 1% at 4534 pence Thursday morning.

Glaxo said Mr. Miels' joining date would be announced in due course, and that Mr. Hussain would leave the company later this year.

Write to Denise Roland at denise.roland@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 19, 2017 04:39 ET (09:39 GMT)

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