Catherine Sazdanoff joined Takeda's Global Business Development & Licensing group in December 2006, and became Vice President, Global Licensing in May 2008 after the Millennium acquisition. She subsequently became VP, Corporate Development focusing on global M&A projects, and most recently was co-lead on the Nycomed acquisition which closed in the fall of 2011.
In her current role as VP, Global Business Development, Catherine heads the team responsible for global R&D licensing and other strategic alliance transactions including M&A.
Prior to Takeda, Catherine was employed by Abbott Laboratories, where she held a variety of business and law positions, including Director of Business Development for Abbott's Pharmaceutical Products Division and Senior Counsel for International Transactions. Other areas of responsibility at Abbott included managing commercial legal operations for Europe and Canada, global litigation, internal investigations, and commercial compliance. Catherine was previously employed at the law firm of Isham, Lincoln & Beale in Chicago.
Catherine has a B.A. in English from the University of Notre Dame and a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law. She is Vice President of the Board of Directors of New York Pharma Forum and a member of Licensing Executives Society, Women Business Leaders, and American Bar Association.