Factbox: New batch of CEOs take over pharma

(Reuters) - The following is a selected list of new chief executives at top health care companies:

JEFFREY KINDLER, CEO, PFIZER INC. (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

Pfizer (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world's biggest drugmaker, in July named its general counsel, Jeffrey Kindler, as CEO, ending Hank McKinnell's tenure more than a year ahead of schedule. Pfizer's share price fell 40 percent during McKinnell's five years at the helm.

Before joining Pfizer in 2002, Kindler was CEO of Boston Market Corp., owned by McDonald's Corp. and held top corporate legal jobs at McDonald's and General Electric Co.

RICHARD CLARK, CEO, MERCK & CO. (MRK.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

Clark took charge of Merck in May 2005 when its sales and profit were reeling from the withdrawal eight months earlier of arthritis drug Vioxx. Many industry analysts say Clark has made an impressive mark with an ambitious restructuring that includes 7,000 job cuts, successful launches of three promising new vaccines and a tough strategy against thousands of Vioxx product-liability lawsuits. The company's stock has risen roughly 54 percent over the last 12 months, far exceeding gains posted by its peers over the same period.

BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB CO. (BMY.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

Bristol-Myers Squibb in September fired CEO Peter Dolan under pressure from a federal overseer investigating a failed deal to delay competition for the drugmaker's blood-thinner Plavix. Dolan's departure ended a five-year tenure marred by an accounting scandal, questionable business deals and a stock that lost nearly 60 percent of its value. He was replaced on an interim basis by board member James Cornelius, a former chairman of medical device maker Guidant and former chief financial officer of Eli Lilly and Co.

R. KERRY CLARK, CEO, CARDINAL HEALTH (CAH.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

When Cardinal Health founder Robert Walter stepped down as CEO in April, the drug wholesaler picked Clark, formerly of Procter & Gamble Co., to replace him. Cardinal was looking for an outsider to lead its international expansion. Clark had led P&G's $20 billion global family health business.

Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal has been working to put a new face on the company, which had been plagued by an SEC probe into accounting issues.

DAVID BRENNAN, CEO, ASTRAZENECA PLC (AZN.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

London-based AstraZeneca handed over the CEO reins to David Brennan, a marketing expert and former head of U.S. operations, at the start of this year. He has made rebuilding the group's depleted drug pipeline his "number one priority" with a strategy of acquisition. The $1.3 billion purchase of Cambridge Antibody Technology was his biggest deal to date but Brennan has also signed up a raft of new products through licensing agreements.

GERARD Le FUR, CEO-DESIGNATE, SANOFI-AVENTIS SA (SASY.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)

France's Sanofi-Aventis' head of R&D, Gerard Le Fur, will take over as CEO in January, although Jean-Francois Dehecq -- the man who created the modern-day group via some 300 acquisitions -- will remain chairman until the end of 2009. The effective dual leadership is likely to keep Sanofi in the limelight as a potential consolidator in the sector, with many investors viewing it as a front-runner to snap up long-time partner Bristol-Myers Squibb.

SHLOMO YANAI, CEO-DESIGNATE, TEVA PHARMACEUTICALS (TEVA.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)  Continued...