WILMINGTON, Del., Nov. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) today announced the appointment of Rich Fante as President of the company's U.S. business.

Fante takes over from Tony Zook, whose role was expanded after recently being named President of MedImmune, the wholly owned biologics business for AstraZeneca PLC. Zook is CEO of AstraZeneca North America and head of global marketing.

In announcing Fante's appointment, Zook said, "Rich brings strong leadership and a wealth of experience that is invaluable to our business and for improving patient health."

Previously, Fante served as AstraZeneca's Vice President, Brand Strategy & Portfolio Operations. He led the development and execution of marketing strategies for all AstraZeneca brands in the United States. He has held a number of leadership roles in his 13 years at AstraZeneca, including Vice President-Primary Care for the gastrointestinal and respiratory franchises, including NEXIUM(R) (esomeprazole magnesium) and PULMICORT RESPULES(R) (budesonide inhalation suspension).

Rich holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Princeton University and a master's in business administration from the University of North Carolina.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of meaningful prescription medicines and supplier for healthcare services. AstraZeneca is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of $29.55 billion and is a leader in gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory, oncology and infectious disease medicines. In the United States, AstraZeneca is a $13.35 billion dollar healthcare business with 12,200 employees committed to improving people's lives. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4Good Index.

For more information visit http://www.astrazeneca-us.com.

SOURCE AstraZeneca