WILMINGTON, DE — AstraZeneca named Rick R. Suarez senior vice president, U.S. president and head of its U.S. BioPharmaceuticals business, putting a longtime company executive in charge of a sweeping expansion aimed at reshaping the drugmaker’s American footprint.
Suarez will oversee execution of AstraZeneca’s previously announced $50 billion investment in U.S. research, development and manufacturing, including construction of a $4.5 billion manufacturing facility in Virginia. The plant is expected to be the company’s largest single manufacturing investment worldwide.
The expansion is central to AstraZeneca’s ambition to generate $80 billion in total revenue by 2030, with roughly half projected to come from the United States, its largest market.
“We are operating at a moment of unprecedented scientific opportunity,” Suarez said. “Our responsibility is to translate that science into results for patients and for the U.S. healthcare system.” He said the investment will expand access to innovative medicines, create highly skilled jobs and deliver long-term value.
In his new role, Suarez will have full responsibility for the U.S. BioPharmaceuticals organization, with accountability for performance, growth and execution across AstraZeneca’s portfolio. He will be based at the company’s U.S. headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, and his appointment is effective immediately.
Suarez brings more than two decades of experience in the U.S. healthcare sector, having held leadership roles across commercial operations, medical affairs and market access at AstraZeneca. He returns to the United States after serving as country president for Spain since 2020, where he led one of the company’s strongest-performing European markets.
During his tenure in Spain, Suarez expanded the country’s role in global clinical development, positioned Barcelona as a strategic innovation hub, and launched the AstraZeneca Healthcare Innovation Hub. That initiative committed more than €10 million to digital health and data-driven projects focused on translational innovation.
Born in the United States and raised in New Haven, Connecticut, Suarez joined AstraZeneca in 1999 as a pharmaceutical sales specialist and advanced through multiple functions of the business, building a career that now places him at the helm of one of the company’s most consequential growth efforts.
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