Robert Armitage has announced his retirement as senior VP and general counsel of Eli Lilly.
He first joined the firm in 1999 as VP and general patent counsel to the firm’s research labs.
VP and deputy counsel Micheal Harrington will step up to the role when Armitage leaves at the end of the year.
"We are very fortunate to have Mike Harrington to take Bob's place,” said chairman, president and CEO John Lechleiter.
“He has been instrumental in handling many of the key legal challenges we have faced in the last few years. His extensive global experience, deep knowledge of the business, and his passion for Lilly's mission will serve our company well."
Hovione has hired Mike Ironside as the new general manager of its technology transfer center, in New Jersey, US.
He joins the firm from Anacor Pharmaceuticals where he was VP of chemical manufacture and development.
"We are certain that Dr. Ironside's leadership qualities combined with his relevant experience in chemical and analytical process development, scale-up from Pilot Plant to full commercial scale will enable us to further strengthen and enlarge our US operations in New Jersey and add new approaches to solve our customers' most challenging problems.", said Thomas Eisele, VP of corporate research and development (R&D).
Galectin Therapeutics has drafted in Harold Shelvin as chief operating officer.
He replaces Maureen Foley, who has served in the role since the targetive therapy specialist’s inception.
Of his new role, Shelvin – former head of the Georgia Institute of Technology's Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) – said: “I look forward to assisting Galectin in developing new potential therapies for patients suffering from intractable liver and other diseases.”
Oren Weininger has been promoted to the role of senior director of business development and licensing for Dexel Pharma.
Previously the firm’s head of international sales and marketing, Weininger will now focus on future growth strategies for the group.
“I am extremely excited by this new challenge, and look forward to establishing new and to continuing existing cooperations,” he said.
Aragon Pharmaceuticals appointed Faheem Hasnain as an independent director.
During his 20-year career in pharma, Hasnain has worked for a number of Big Pharma firms including Biogen Idec, Bristol Myers-Squibb and GlaxoSmithKline.
He is currently president and CEO of Receptos.
"The team at Aragon Pharmaceuticals has pioneered a very promising small molecule discovery platform for anti-hormonal agents, and I look forward to being involved in their future development efforts as they continue to advance in this promising field," he said.