AstraZeneca oncology R&D chief Jose Baselga passes away at 61

AstraZeneca oncology R&D chief, Jose Baselga succumbed to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and passed away at the age of 61. 

A prominent figure in cancer development, Baselga was earlier the chief medical officer at Memorial Sloan Kettering.

Associated with mad cow disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a lethal neurodegenerative which progresses rapidly and is suffered by 1 in every million people, reports ENDPOINTS News. 

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AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot praised Baselga when he joined the pharmaceutical company calling him an “outstanding scientific leader”. The late Barcelona native directed a late-stage alliance on Enhertu which got quick approval and helped the franchise to expand rapidly. 

Jose’s work at MSK led to a wide range of significant new cancer drugs being developed and had worked with one of the biggest names in oncology. 

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Many of Jose Baselga colleagues and friends took to Twitter to express their shock over the oncologist’s passing and to give condolences. 

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Baselga was also a recognized breast cancer specialist and has been cited for his efforts around PI3K research, which has more recently inspired further investigation around mTOR and AKT inhibition.