Danish pharmaceutical company Lundbeck has appointed Tarek Samad as Executive Vice President and Head of Research & Development, effective September 1, 2026. Samad will also join the company’s Executive Leadership Team.
Samad currently serves as Senior Vice President, Global Head of Research and Corporate Patents at Lundbeck, a role he has held since 2021. In that position, he led the company’s global research organization and played a key part in executing Lundbeck’s R&D strategy, advancing its innovation capabilities, and strengthening research collaborations. His responsibilities have encompassed oversight of the company’s research footprint across multiple sites, including the firm’s headquarters in Valby, Denmark. The corporate patents function he leads protects Lundbeck’s intellectual property portfolio, which is central to the company’s competitive position in niche neuroscience markets. Prior to his current appointment, Samad had been instrumental in integrating Lundbeck’s internal discovery efforts with external academic partnerships, a focus that aligns with the company’s strategy of supplementing internal programs with external innovation.
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Before joining Lundbeck, Samad held senior research leadership positions at Immunitas Therapeutics, Sanofi, and Pfizer. At Immunitas, a biotechnology company focused on immuno-oncology, he served as Chief Scientific Officer, where he directed early-stage discovery programs. During his tenure at Sanofi, Samad led global neuroscience research and was responsible for advancing pipeline candidates from target identification through preclinical development. At Pfizer, his work included leadership roles in the company’s neuroscience research unit, contributing to programs in pain and neurodegenerative diseases. He also served on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, where his academic research focused on molecular mechanisms of pain and neuronal plasticity, producing publications in peer-reviewed journals. This combination of academic and industry experience has given him a perspective that bridges fundamental neurobiology with translational drug development.
Charl van Zyl, Lundbeck’s CEO, said Samad has been a key contributor to the development and execution of the company’s R&D strategy and to progress across its pipeline. “As we continue to build on the momentum, I am confident that he is the right leader to guide our R&D organization through its next phase of innovation and growth,” van Zyl said. Van Zyl, who became CEO in 2021, has overseen a period of pipeline restructuring that has emphasized late-stage clinical assets in psychiatry and neurology. The leadership change in R&D comes as Lundbeck prepares for several key clinical readouts, including Phase 3 data for its investigational treatment for Alzheimer’s disease agitation and further trials in major depressive disorder.
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Samad takes over from Johan Luthman, who is retiring after seven years with Lundbeck. A transition period will begin in July 2026 to ensure a smooth handover, and Luthman will remain with the company through the end of 2026 to maintain continuity across key strategic and scientific priorities. Luthman, who joined Lundbeck in 2019, previously served as Executive Vice President of R&D and oversaw the company’s shift toward a more focused pipeline of brain disease therapies, including the divestiture of non-neuroscience assets. His tenure included the launch of the antidepressant Brintellix in additional markets and the advancement of several mid-stage programs in schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease psychosis.
In his own comments on the appointment, Samad noted Lundbeck’s combination of scientific legacy and commitment to innovation in brain diseases. “Over the past five years, I have had the privilege of working alongside Johan and the broader R&D organization to advance our science, strengthen our capabilities, and accelerate the progress of our pipeline,” he said. Samad’s five years at Lundbeck span a period during which the company reorganized its research unit around six core disease areas: depression, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, migraine, and rare neurological disorders. He has also been deeply involved in building the company’s external innovation network, which includes collaborations with academic centers and biotech firms to access novel targets and technology platforms.
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Lundbeck focuses exclusively on brain diseases and neuroscience. The company’s pipeline includes treatments for disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. The appointment comes as the company works to bring new therapies through clinical development and to market. With a history dating back to 1915, Lundbeck has one of the industry’s largest dedicated neuroscience R&D organizations, with research activities spanning discovery biology, medicinal chemistry, translational biomarkers, and clinical pharmacology. The company markets its products in more than 50 countries and operates R&D centers in Denmark and the United States. The succession plan for the R&D leadership role is intended to ensure that ongoing late-stage clinical studies and regulatory submissions remain on schedule during the leadership change.
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