Sunil Verma, SVP, Global Head of Oncology at AstraZeneca, shared on LinkedIn:
“Today marks the 5th anniversary of the passing of one of oncology’s fiercest warriors, Jose Baselga.
I had the incredible honor of working with Jose when I joined AstraZeneca nearly seven years ago, and for many years prior as we collaborated on breast cancer studies. While he is no longer with us, his vision and teachings still help to guide my decisions every day.
In his words, we need to ‘lead the revolution’ against cancer and these lessons from Jose remain my North Star:
– Urgency is a Requirement: Patients don’t have time. Jose had an incredible passion for pursuing the next wave of medicines and bringing them to patients with the utmost speed and efficiency. He worked with this urgency and made sure those around him were moved to do the same.
– Facts Over Opinions: As we advance in our careers, it is easy to rely on experience-based opinions. Jose challenged us to go deeper-to find the data points that support or disprove our assumptions and always lead with evidence. He tackled the issue through many different approaches, in quest to collect more data points in order to help make the right decision.
– The Patient is the Teacher: Jose taught us to learn from every patient journey. We spent countless nights and weekends reviewing data to ensure the patient experience remained at the heart of our decisions. We have to listen to the patient and appreciate each unique journey that can help us inform how we can improve the outcomes for those with Cancer today and for tomorrow.
– Infectious Tenacity: When Jose believed in a medicine, a study, or a person, he was relentless. He moved organizations to make the ‘impossible’ happen. You have to be clear in what you believe in and if you have the belief, you have to raise up and those around you to achieve the next wave of advancements in care and research.
Beyond the science, he cared-deeply. He cared for his team, the research community, his family, and every patient he served.
I miss him greatly as a friend, a mentor, and a colleague. We continue the revolution Jose started, carrying his guidance with us in everything we do.”
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