Bristol-Myers Squibb has unveiled the new-look team that will lead its R&D group after the closure of its Celgene takeover. The Big Pharma is dividing the group up into early- and late-phase development, handing Celgene's Rupert Vessey responsibility for the former and hiring Novartis' Samit Hirawat to run the latter. The combined company will possess potential internal candidates for the late-phase post, such as Celgene Chief Medical Officer Jay Backstrom, but Bristol-Myers has opted to hire from outside its walls. Hirawat, a long-standing Novartis employee, is set to leave his position as head of oncology global development at the Swiss pharma to become CMO at Bristol-Myers. As CMO, Hirawat will lead Bristol-Myers' global drug development group, giving him responsibility for taking assets from proof of concept to commercialization.