A departure at the US FDA’s principal deputy commissioner and appointments at Cephalon, AstraZeneca and Biogen Idec – People on the move
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) principal deputy commissioner Joshua Sharfstein will step down, having been selected by Maryland Governor Martin O ‘Malley to run the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Dr Sharfstein, a paediatrician who has held the deputy position for less than two years, will be replaced by FDA lawyer John Taylor to step into the role on an interim basis.
Cephalon has named J Kevin Buchi as its new CEO. He has been acting chief since August when he took over the reigns from former head and company founder who sadly passed away this week after a battle with Lukemia.
AstraZeneca has named Esra Erkal Paler as its new head of global media relations. Ms Erkal Paler, who will join the firm in April, previously worked at L’Oreal and Unilever.
Dominique Baly has been appointed as president of Sartorius’ group laboratory business. The newly created position will see Baly, who has previously held positions at Millipore; assume cross-divisional management of marketing, sales and service.
Biogen Idec has finally hired a new head of R&D, appointing Douglas Williams to the role which has been vacant since the retirement of predessor Cecil Pickett October 2009. Williams’ was previously CEO of ZymoGenetics, which was acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb last year, and head of Immunex.
Carl Foster has been appointed executive VP of business development at North Carolina-based clinical-stage drugmaker Cempra Pharmaceuticals. Foster, who will focus on developing the firm’s antibiotic programmes, most recently served as CEO of European genomics company Juilab.
West Pharmaceutical Services has named Jeffrey Hunt as president of its pharmaceutical packaging systems business. Hunt, West in July 2010 as VP of strategic planning and business development, has previously served as president of patient care and safety products at Covidien,
Alexander Wessels has been appointed president and CEO of DSM Pharmaceutical Products. Wessels, who previously led DSM’s Food Specialties unit, will take charge of the firm’s drug ingredients business and growth strategy. Prior to joining DSM he held positions at Unilever, ICI, and Campina
