Eli Lilly chief John Lechleiter has been elected the new chairman ofPharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).
Lechleiter has served as chairman, president and CEO of Lilly since 2008, after working within the company since 1979 as a senior organic chemist.
In his new role he succeeds Christopher Viehbacher, CEO of Sanofi.
PhRMA president and CEO John Castellani said: "As Dr. Lechleiter assumes the chairman role, we can all feel comfort knowing that the patient-centered approaches we utilize in all our advocacy efforts will continue to be central to our mission of advancing innovation in the US and worldwide.”
Centerstone Research Institute (CRI) has promoted its former chief operatin officer Tom Doub to the role of CEO of the behavioral healthcare research and technology organisation.
He first joined the firm 10 years ago as VP of research, when drove the creation of an alliance of community-based mental health centers, researchers, industry advocates and leaders focused on transforming behavioral healthcare known collectively as the Knowledge Network.
“Tom is, in many ways, the founder of Centerstone’s research infrastructure,” said David Guth, CEO. “With his unique combination of research expertise, clinical experience and passion for behavioral health, Tom is the ideal candidate to lead CRI into the future and help the organization achieve new and exciting breakthroughs in the prevention and cure of mental health and addiction disorders.”
Bellicum Pharmaceuticals has drafted in David Spenceras chief scientific officer.
Spencer – a co-founder of Bellicum – returns to the firm from Baylor College of Medicine, where he was vice chairman of pathology and immunology.
He is the co-inventor of chemical induction of dimerization (CID), which is used to control a wide range of biologic functions in cells.
"We're pleased to have David join Bellicum and bring with him a singularly unique knowledge of the science behind our products," commented Tom Farrell, CEO of Bellicum Pharmaceuticals.
Array BioPharma has named Howard Holden as VP of regulatory affairs and quality assurance.
In his new role Holden will head regulatory activities for the company’s pipeline of targeted small molecule drugs to treat cancer and inflammatory diseases.
“Howard's lifetime of regulatory experience will help Array navigate the FDA approval path for our proprietary programs,” said Kyle Lefkoff, executive chairman of Array BioPharma.
AcelRx Pharmaceuticals has hired Kimberley Gaumer as VP of regulatory affairs and quality assurance.
She will lead all global regulatory, quality and compliance for the company, including the development and prosecution of regulatory filings for ARX-01, the Sufentanil NanoTab PCA System, a sublingual patient-controlled analgesia system, currently in Phase 3 clinical trials.
Prior to joining the team she was VP of regulatory affairs at J&J subsidiary Zosano Pharmaceuticals.
AcelRx CEO Richard King said: "Kim has an excellent track record of enabling regulatory progression and approval for combination drug-device products in both the US and Europe.”