The departure of an FDA foreign inspections official and the search for a leader of the EMA – People on the move

in-PharmaTechnologist presents its latest round up of movements in the pharma sector, including the departure of an FDA foreign inspections official and the search for a leader of the EMA.

Edwin Rivera-Martinez, the official who oversaw oversees inspections, has left the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to join Parexel Consulting as technical vice president (TVP) to the strategic compliance services team.

Rivera-Martinez worked at the FDA for 33 years, rising to the position of chief of the International Compliance Branch. In this position Rivera-Martinez was involved in inspections of overseas drug and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production facilities.

The board of supervisory directors at OctoPlus has hired Jan Hendrik Egberts and nominated him for appointment as CEO at the annual shareholder meeting in the spring of 2011. Egberts will replace Simon Sturge as CEO.

In a 20 year career in pharmaceuticals Egberts has worked at Organon Teknika, McKinsey & Company, Merck & Co, Johnson & Johnson, Mölnlycke Health Care and Novadel.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has published a vacancy notice to recruit an executive director. Thomas Lönngren, the current executive director, will leave the EMA at the end of 2010 having completed his second five-year mandate.

Andreas Pott will serve as acting executive director until a full-time replacement for Lönngren is recruited. Pott joined the European Parliament in 1989 and took the role of head of administration at the EMA in 2000.

Denator AB has expanded its management team by naming Mårten Winge as VP for business development. Winge has 22 years of experience in the biotech tools supply industry, most recently as CEO of Proxeon.

Paul Berg is to retire from the Gilead Sciences’ board of directors in May 2011. Berg was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1980 and has served on the board of directors at Gilead since 1998.