Pfiz­er scoops Cal­i­co ex­ec Jeff Set­tle­man to head big on­col­o­gy R&D ops in La Jol­la

Pfiz­er has found its new chief of on­col­o­gy R&D in Cal­i­co, the Google-backed stealthy start­up try­ing to crack the code on age-re­lat­ed dis­eases.

Jeff Set­tle­man is step­ping in as the phar­ma gi­ant pre­pares for the re­tire­ment of Robert Abra­ham, whose ex­pe­ri­ence in on­col­o­gy re­search stretch­es back years at Wyeth.

Pfiz­er’s on­col­o­gy unit has seen a bit of turnover in re­cent years, with a high pro­file de­par­ture just weeks ago when its clin­i­cal head in im­muno-on­col­o­gy, Dim­it­ry Nuyten, jumped to Aduro. Charles Hugh-Jones left last Au­gust for Al­ler­gan af­ter a 16-month stint as CMO; on the com­mer­cial side, Liz Bar­rett was poached by No­var­tis be­fore mov­ing on to lead the biotech Uro­Gen.

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