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NEWS & ANALYSIS
AN AUDIENCE WITH
Fred Hassan
Fred Hassan, Chief Executive Officer, Schering-Plough Corp.
After graduating in chemical engineering from the University of London and obtaining an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, Fred Hassan began an illustrious pharmaceutical career, starting at Sandoz Pharmaceuticals where he spent 17 years and was head of the US pharmaceuticals business. He has since been Executive Vice President at Wyeth and Chairman and CEO of Pharmacia Corp., and in April 2003 he took up his current role as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Schering-Plough Corp.
a company like ours, where, not only do we benefit from being medium-sized, but we are developing a strong, well-connected culture.
I also make a point of going to conferences such as the American Society of Clinical Oncology and American Heart Association meetings and sitting down with people, listening to the clinicians and the thought leaders, and observing what people are doing.
I think its rare to see CEOs taking that kind of an interest, but I feel it really makesa big difference and that it motivates ourown people to feel better connected withthe scientific community. For example, after hearing from practitioners about problems signing up patients for assistance programmes, we worked very hard to develop a simpler form that facilitates this. I think its useful to have this kind of contact so that as problems arise you can do something about it. The industryis already taking measures to improve its relationship with its stakeholders, such as the recent voluntary codes of...