Dutch biotechnology company Pharming has appointed John Pieters to the position of chief operating officer effective 1 July. Pieters has previously served at Amgen as directeur general France. Meantime, Pharming has also appointed Sabine Hoekstra as legal counsel and Erik Doevendans as director, regulatory affairs.
US-based drugmaker Wyeth has named Ulf Wiinberg to the position of senior vice president, Wyeth, and president of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals EMEA, reporting to Wyeth Pharmaceuticals' president Bernard Poussot. Wiinberg was previously president of Wyeth Consumer Healthcare.
Indian drugmaker Matrix Laboratories has recruited former Sandoz executive Sanjeev Sethi as senior vice president, pharmaceutical and technical services.
POZEN, a US company focused on developing drugs for pain-related conditions, has named Lisa Zimmerman to the newly created position of vice president, quality assurance. She will be responsible for compliance strategies governing the operation of clinical trials and regulatory affairs, and ensure that the firm's development programs adhere to Good Clinical, Manufacturing and Laboratory Practices (GCP, GMP and GLP).
Peter Leddy is joining Invitrogen as senior vice president of human resources, effective 5 July. He will oversee the firm's global HR strategy and lead efforts on talent acquisition, employee development, internal communications, compensation and benefits, and acquisition integration.
Artes Medical, a privately held specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company, has promoted Larry Braga to the post of VP, manufacturing, in preparation for the company's upcoming US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspection of its manufacturing facility.
John Rogers has stepped down as president and chief executive of drug development services company MDS, but will remain on the company's board as vice chair until the end of October. He will be succeeded as president and CEO by Stephen DeFalco, currently MDS' chief operating officer, effective 1 July. DeFalco will also join the MDS board of directors at that time.
Novartis Pharma KK vice chairman Isao Ohhashi has been elected chairman of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) unit in Japan, succeeding former Sanofi-Aventis Japan CEO James Mitchum.
Schering-Plough has appointed Miguel Ribas as general manager for Schering-Plough del Caribe in Puerto Rico. He was previously general manager for the group in the Philippines.
Philippe Fauchet, who has most-recently been president of Sanofi-Synthelabo KK in Japan, has taken over full responsibility for Sanofi-Aventis in Japan, since the departure of James Mitchum.
Nabi Biopharmaceuticals has appointed Constance Bienfait as vice president of investor relations. Most recently, Bienfait served as executive director of corporate communications for Kos Pharmaceuticals. She will assume the responsibilities of Mark Soufleris, who has been appointed vice president of marketing at Nabi.