Sascha Haverfield | Head of Strategy and Operations, OTAU | Takeda Oncology

Sascha Haverfield is Head of Strategy and Operations for the Oncology Therapeutic Area Unit (OTAU) and a member of the Oncology Business Unit Leadership Team. In this role, Sascha guides portfolio strategy and ensures operational excellence and fiscal discipline to support Takeda Oncology’s aspiration to deliver transformational medicines for people living with cancer. He is a highly adaptable biopharmaceutical industry leader with a proven track record of developing and implementing complex programs and transforming organizations to meet strategic priorities with over twenty years of industry experience.

Before this, Sascha served as the Head of New Product Planning and Business Development in Takeda’s Oncology Business Unit (OBU). In this role, his focus was on accelerating early oncology assets and maximizing pipeline value by helping to align diverse stakeholders across the OBU and OTAU organizations. Prior to this, Sascha was the Head of Regulatory Affairs and Development Operations for Takeda’s Plasma-derived Therapies Business Unit where he additionally provided global program leadership for Takeda’s COVID-19 investigational hyperimmune globulin therapy under the multistakeholder CoVIg-19 Alliance.

Prior to joining Takeda, Sascha served as Head of EU and International Regulatory Affairs at Shire, where he led a group of over 200 professionals across the European Union, Canada, LATAM, EAMEA, APAC and Japan. From 2009 to 2017 he served as the Senior Vice President, Science and Regulatory Advocacy at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).

Sascha completed his undergraduate studies in Biological Sciences at the University of Marburg, Germany. He received a Doctorate in Genetics and Cell Biology from the University of Oxford, UK. Sascha is now located in Cambridge, MA.