Dr. Ronald DePinho, president of MD Anderson Cancer Center since 2011, is stepping down from heading the financially troubled hospital effective this May.
DePinho, 62, announced his resignation last week in a letter to the chancellor of the University of Texas, which runs the center. During DePinho's tenure, the hospital faced layoffs and financial woes, including a $266 million loss in fiscal 2016 despite raking in approximately $4 billion in annual revenue.
The hospital was also troubled by agreements it had with outside firms. Late last year, MD Anderson and IBM put their partnership on hold, stalling plans to use IBM Watson for precision-medicine cancer treatment. The project, which was led by DePinho's wife, failed to meet its goals, and a University of Texas audit showed it cost MD Anderson more than $62 million.
The audit also noted that contracts MD Anderson had with IBM and PricewaterhouseCoopers broke internal rules, including those that call for competitive bidding.
In his resignation letter, DePinho wrote that MD Anderson “needs a new president who will inspire greater unity and a sharp operational focus on navigating the tectonic changes in healthcare delivery and economics.”
