Last week, Garry Nicholson left a 30-year career at Lilly to take a job at Pfizer overseeing its oncology business, from the first human tests to marketing. And, Forbes writes, this is an immense undertakingob. Pfizer’s recovery rests largely on how well Nicholson, 53, can get cancer-fighting drugs out of its research labs and into doctor offices.

“It’s an exceptional situation,” he tells the mag, “and for someone like me, who is in the business to get as many cancer drugs that extend survival to patients as possible, it is the best situation that I know of.” Pfizer ceo Jeff Kindler tells Forbes he picked Nicholson because of his close ties to important insurers and the cancer doctors who prescribe and test new meds. (Pfizer statement).

And Jeff adds that he is putting “Pfizer’s full scope and scale” behind a push into the cancer market. Right now, cancer drugs account for only $2.5 billion, or 5 percent of Pfizer’s annual sales, compared with 15 percent for Novartis and 70 percent for Genentech. Pfizer has boosted antitumor research 60 percent since 2005 to $1.6 billion.

In its labs are 18 potential meds targeted against pancreatic, breast and lung cancers. Cancer-fighting drugs can reach the market twice as fast as the average med, and companies can charge as much as $50,000 for a single course of treatment. The oncology drug market is forecast to grow 50% to $85 billion by 2013 as more effective and expensive drugs are launched, Forbes writes.