By Emily Ford
eford@salisburypost.com
David Murdock, developer of the N.C. Research Campus, will announce this morning PepsiCo’s decision to join the biotechnology complex Murdock and North Carolina’s university system are developing in Kannapolis.
A host of the state’s education, business and political leaders are gathering at the former Cannon Mills Plant 1 site to officially open the first three buildings of the N.C. Research Campus.
According the program for this morning’s ceremony, Murdock and Dr. Victor Dzau, Duke University’s chancellor for health affairs, will introduce Dr. Mehmood Khan, PepsiCo’s chief scientific officer.
Khan is expected to announced Pepsico’s plans to come to Kannapolis.
In December, PepsiCo appointed Khan to the newly-created position of chief scientific officer, reporting to Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo’s chairman and chief executive officer.
According to the Red Orbit Web site, Khan has more than 20 years of experience in the medical and pharmaceutical field. Before joining PepsiCo, he served as president of Takeda Pharmaceuticals Global Research and Development Center and developed Takeda’s U.S. medical affairs and global medical affairs functions.
As an M.D. with specialties in internal medicine and endocrinology, Khan has extensive academic and clinical experience, according to Red Orbit. He served at the Mayo Clinic as the director of diabetes, endocrinology and nutrition clinical trial unit. He spent six years with the department of food, sciences and nutrition at the University of Minnesota. He also served as division chief of endocrinology, metabolism and nutrition at one of the main teaching hospitals of the University of Minnesota Medical School.