Anas Younes

In my role as Global Head of Haematology R&D, I am focused on developing the next wave of potential new blood cancer medicines for patients. Our dedicated Haematology R&D team drives innovation from early-stage target identification and pre-clinical research, through to clinical development and regulatory submissions.

As Chief Medical Officer for AstraZeneca, I’m committed to working with purpose and urgency to meet the needs of patients today and tomorrow. The Chief Medical Office is responsible for the entire development and commercial strategy across the AstraZeneca portfolio. As CMO, I lead on decision making to protect patients and uphold ethical standards throughout the lifecycle of our medicines. My remit spans global patient safety, patient science, quality assurance, bioethics and clinical trial transparency to ensure our research and products are optimized for potential safety profile, efficacy, and integrity across all therapeutic areas.

I am a clinician-scientist and have spent more than 25 years caring for patients with lymphoma. Prior to joining AstraZeneca, I was at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) where I served as the Chief of the Lymphoma Service, in addition to leading a laboratory focused on drug development for patients with lymphoid malignancies. Our lab was focused on accelerating the translation of scientific discoveries into novel treatment strategies that aim to improve the cure rate and survival of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Prior to MSKCC, I worked for 20 years at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) where I directed clinical and translational research in the Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma.

During my tenure in academia, I lead numerous clinical trials that advanced the field and resulted in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of two novel agents for patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma, including a targeted drug for the treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma in more than three decades, and the approval of an immune checkpoint inhibitor for lymphoma. During the same time, our groups’ efforts at MDACC and MSKCC resulted in 11 new approved indications for the treatment of patients with different types of lymphoid malignancies.

I have published more than 300 papers in peer-reviewed journals, served as the principal investigator of more than 60 clinical trials, including national and international multi-centre studies, and led two independent National Cancer Institute–funded Specialized Programs of Research Excellence at MDACC and MSKCC that focused on novel drug development for patients with lymphoma. I also led a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society-sponsored Specialized Center of Research program focusing on developing a second-generation CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T-cell therapy for patients with blood cancers. I am a past member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Lymphoma Research Foundation.

After earning a medical degree from the Damascus University School of Medicine in Syria, I completed residencies in pathology at the College of Medicine and Life Sciences at the University of Toledo in Ohio, in internal medicine at SUNY Downstate College of Medicine, in New York, and a fellowship in haematology/oncology at MSKCC.