PMI Appoints Former FDA Officials
Philip Morris International has appointed two former U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials to key positions.
Badrul Chowdhury was appointed PMI’s chief life sciences officer for smoke-free products, succeeding Jorge Insuasty, who will complete his move into the recently created position of president of Vectura Fertin Pharma. After a short transition period, Chowdhury will join PMI’s senior management team in January 2023, reporting to CEO Jacek Olczak.
“I am delighted to welcome Badrul to PMI and look forward to working closely with him as he leads our talented team of scientific experts,” said Olczak in a statement. “He is an accomplished scientist and regulatory strategist, with decades of leadership experience, both in industry and as a regulator within the U.S. FDA’s pulmonary division. His wealth of knowledge and experience will be critical to help achieve our ambition of a smoke-free future. I also extend my sincere thanks to Jorge Insuasty for his contributions to the function as he moves to oversee Vectura Fertin Pharma full time.”
Chowdhury joins PMI from a U.S.-based biotech company developing inhalation products for rare respiratory diseases, where he was chief medical officer. Prior to that, he was AstraZeneca’s senior vice president and chief physician-scientist for respiratory inflammation and autoimmunity late-stage development in biopharmaceuticals R&D. From 1997 to 2018, Chowdhury served as director of the division of pulmonary, allergy and rheumatology products at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the FDA.
Matthew Holman was appointed as PMI’s vice president of U.S. scientific engagement and regulatory strategy, reporting to Deepak Mishra, president of PMI Americas.
“We are delighted that Matt will be joining PMI to further accelerate our journey toward a smoke-free future, particularly here in the United States,” said Mishra. “As we transform, we recognize the importance of bringing together diverse perspectives, including those of regulatory bodies and the scientific community. Matt’s solid scientific and stakeholder knowledge, combined with his passion for tobacco harm reduction, will be invaluable.”
Holman joins PMI from the FDA, where he served for more than 20 years, most recently as director of the Office of Science at the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP). At the CTP, Holman was instrumental in building the FDA’s marketing application review programs. He served as the CTP’s chief scientist, playing a significant role in guiding policy decisions, developing rulemaking and guidance documents, and overseeing a robust regulatory science research program for tobacco products.
The appointment of these experts complements the recent hiring of Keagan Lenihan, who joined PMI in May 2022 as vice president of government affairs and public policy and head of its Washington, D.C., office. Lenihan spent two decades working in government, corporate and public policy, including as associate commissioner for external affairs and strategic initiatives and then chief of staff at the U.S. FDA.