Bristol Myers Squibb names new Head of Development

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Bristol Myers Squibb has appointed Dr Cristian Massacesi as its new Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, and Head of Development.

Dr Massacesi will oversee both early-stage and late-stage product development from 1 August 2025, based in Princeton, New Jersey, US.

He will overtake Dr Samit Hirawat, who has been in the role for the past six years. To ensure a smooth transition, Dr Hirawat will move on from his current role on August 1, 2025. He will however, remain as an advisor at Bristol Myers Squibb until 1 November.

Dr Cristian Massacesi’s career highlights

Dr Massacesi has over two decades experience in the global biopharmaceutical field and begun his career as a medical oncologist.

“He has a proven track record of advancing breakthrough science from early through late-stage development and global regulatory approvals,” Bristol Myers Squibb explained.

In his most recent roles as AstraZeneca and Alexion, Dr Massacesi served as Chief Medical Officer, and as Oncology Chief Development Officer at AstraZeneca. During his tenure, the company advanced over 150 clinical studies and achieved multiple regulatory approvals.

Dr Massacesi has also worked in senior R&D positions at Pfizer and Novartis. Here, he oversaw advancement of therapeutic development programmes for solid tumours and hematologic malignancies.

“[His] deep scientific expertise, strong focus on clinical execution and proven track record of regulatory approvals will be instrumental as we continue to advance our pipeline and deliver breakthrough medicines to even more patients around the world,” explained Christopher Boerner, PhD, Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Bristol Myers Squibb.

Commenting on his new tenure as EVP, Chief Medical Officer, and Head of Development, Dr Massacesi shared: “I am on a mission to discover new medicines – unlocking innovative approaches to researching and treating challenging diseases so that one day, no patient will hear that all options have been exhausted”.