GENEVA (Kyodo) The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations said Wednesday that Eisai Co. President Haruo Naito has assumed the presidency, becoming the first Japanese to head the Geneva-based industry body.
His predecessor, Fred Hassan, chairman and chief executive officer of Schering-Plough Corp., stepped down as his firm's merger with Merck & Co. was completed before his two-year term as IFPMA chief expired.
Naito will serve for the remainder of Hassan's term until next fall.
The president's job at IFPMA is usually given to the leaders of major Western drug companies.