People on the move in January include new CEOs at Lonza, Taconic, MaSTherCell, Pii, and Wasdell, among several other c-suite shakeups and new hires as the industry kicks off the New Year.
Click through the following slides to hear what this month's new hires hope to achieve in their new roles.
People on the move in January include new CEOs at Lonza, Taconic, MaSTherCell, Pii, and Wasdell, among several other c-suite shakeups and new hires as the industry kicks off the New Year.
Click through the following slides to hear what this month's new hires hope to achieve in their new roles.
The Sydney, Australia-headquartered CRO has appointed James Cheong to chief operating officer (COO). Based at the company’s Singapore office, Cheong will lead global operations and direct the company's administrative functions.
Cheong said, “Over many years, I have watched with interest how George Clinical has grown both as a leading full-service CRO in the Asia Pacific and as a strong advocate of pragmatic trial solutions, executing clinical trials to the highest quality standards and operational excellence, with scientific expertise as an invaluable differentiator.”
Cheong told us he is excited about taking the next step in his career, with a company he believes shows incredible promise, and “the winning formula of being big enough globally to meet all our customers’ needs, yet our agility and service focus are able to help our start-up/biotech customers not feel lost in the clinical trial process.”
“George Clinical is a company that has clearly developed an enviable footprint in the Asia-Pacific and North America, across a variety of therapy areas, particularly in the areas of oncology, renal, vascular and respiratory,” he said.
Cheong was previously the head of clinical operations for the Chinese market at Boehringer Ingelheim.
Prior to Boehringer Ingelheim, he was the vice president of clinical development at EPS International in the Asia Pacific, and has held various leadership roles at global CROs.
The interactive response technology (IRT) company named Catherine Hall as its vice president of product strategy.
Backed by 17 years of clinical supply chain experience, she will lead the company’s global product strategy, including product vision, product execution, team development, and product culture.
Hall told us, “In my career, I have sought to understand the various roles and effort that is needed to conduct a clinical trial from beginning to end. I want to bring those learnings to endpoint so that our teams get to know who all is using our software and why so that we can better match their needs with new technology.
“With users in mind, I want to help develop a robust and innovative product roadmap that anticipates the needs of our users and helps transform clinical trials.
Hall began her career as an academic scientist in Molecular and Cellular Biology before finishing her MBA and transitioning into Supply Chain working with Pfizer/ Millennium/Takeda, Biogen/ Alnylam and Sunovion.
Most recently, Hall was the director of operational excellence at Sunovion Pharmaceuticals’ office of R&D strategic planning. She began her career in academia before recieving her MBA and moving into supply chain, working with Pfizer, Millennium, Takeda, Biogen, and others.
Lonza’s CEO Richard Ridinger is retiring from the company after seven years. As for his next steps, he intends to build a portfolio of non-executive positions in various companies.
Marc Funk next month will take over as the new CEO. He is currently the chief operating officer for the pharma and biotech division.
Ridinger will remain with the company until the end of April to ensure a smooth transition, and will be available in an advisory capacity until the end of 2019.
Ridinger said, “I am no less committed to the Board of Directors for the trust placed in me and for our constructive cooperation … Lonza is in a very strong position, and I will be working closely with Marc over the coming months to ensure a smooth transition and the continuation of the company’s success.”
As the incoming CEO, Funk said he is committed to building on the company’s foundation and to “driving forward the strategy across all our businesses along the health care continuum.”
The international CDMO for biologics and pharmaceuticals has appointed Dr. Darrell Sleep as the director of innovation.
According to Cobra, the decision is part of ongoing strategic expansions activities underway at the company’s Keele site. This includes increasing capacity and capability for the clinical and commercial in-market supply of viral vector and DNA products to advanced therapy medicinal product (ATMP) developers.
In his new role, Darrell will lead the site’s newly-formed innovation team. He also will work closely with the group’s chief scientific officer (CSO) Professor Daniel Smith.
Sleep told us, “In the first instance, the integration of the internal R&D and the process & analytical development teams will facilitate improved knowledge and information flow between the two departments.
“I look forward to the combined team delivering process development improvements through the adoption of optimised workflows and the introduction of innovative bioprocess solutions for biotech companies developing ATMPs.”
Syneos Health’s new president of clinical solutions, Paul Colvin, joins the company from PPD where he was the CRO’s executive vice president, biopharma partnerships. He also was chairman and CEO of the joint venture PPD-SNBL.
Before PPD, Colvin worked across a variety of roles at Eli Lilly and Company for nearly 15 years.
Colvin said, “I’m honored to join Syneos Health, an organization that I believe is well positioned to transform biopharmaceutical development and commercialization for both biotech and large pharma."
Colvin succeeds Michael McKelvey, PhD, who announced his retirement.
The CDMO has named a new CEO, Vincent Dunne, who has more than 20 years of experience within the pharmaceutical sector.
He was previously the vice president of global materials management and international supply chain at Shire Pharmaceuticals.
Wasdell’s previous CEO Martin Tedham is now the chairman of the company’s board of directors.
Dunne said, “I am thrilled to be joining the Wasdell Group at such a pivotal time of growth and investment, namely the launch of our Dundalk facility, expansion in Swindon and adding new manufacturing capabilities at our Newcastle site.
“Another key focus will be managing existing operations so that we can continue to support customers’ supply chains across the globe with high-quality service and unrivalled lead times.”
As part of the senior management restructure, Daniel Tedham was promoted to group managing director, a role in which he will be responsible for the company’s sites in Newcastle, Swindon and Burnley.
The Pasadena-based specialty analgesic CRO has appointed Peggy Schrammel as the senior vice president of CRO Services.
Prior to joining Lotus, Schrammel held several senior leadership and management positions at some of the largest global CROs. Most recently, she was the vice president of scientific affairs and Asia Pacific for Parexel in Boulder, CO.
In her new role, she will lead business development efforts and help build out the company’s CRO infrastructure to further grow the business
Lotus also in January announced the addition of Robert Dworkin, PhD, as director of chronic pain research. Dworkin will lead Lotus’ chronic pain research programs and expand the company’s chronic pain expertise and capabilities.
Dworkin has more than 35 years of experience conducting clinical research on acute and chronic pain, and has consulted with more than 160 pharmaceutical and device companies.
Taconic Biosciences' Board of Directors selected Nancy to succeed Dr. Robert Rosenthal as chief executive officer (CEO).
"Dr. Bob Rosenthal and I along with the previous Taconic board of directors developed a 2-year succession plan to prepare me to lead Taconic, allowing Dr. Rosenthal to focus on inorganic growth initiatives and partnerships," Sandy told us.
"Taconic will continue delivering high value models and services, helping researchers spend their valuable time on drug development rather than generating advanced models and breeding them," she added.
"Geographically, we expanding our global footprint by developing partnerships in China and on the west coast, where we already have a significant customer base. Additionally, we will fully leverage our new relationship with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to add exciting new models to our product line and develop a suite of services for microbiome research."
Rosenthal was CEO for four and a half years and will continue to lead external growth initiatives as chief innovation officer. He also holds positions on the Taconic Scientific Advisory Board and Board of Directors.
Effective January 14, Sandy now holds the company’s top leadership position after joining Taconic in January 2016.
Prior to Taconic, Sandy worked at several companies including Perkin Elmer, Magellan Biosciences, and Cardiac Science.
The biologics CDMO appointed Brandon Brega to the newly created position of chief operating officer.
In his new role, Brega will lead manufacturing and operations at the company’s 183,000 square foot Department of Defense Advanced Development and Manufacturing (ADM) facility in Alachua, FL.
“I look forward to working with the team to bring online efficient and cGMP compliant manufacturing projects in parallel, in order to take maximum advantage of our multiproduct, multiuse open ballroom design,” said Brega.
Brega has held various positions at Merck & Co., most recently he was the associate vice president of plant management at the company’s Durham, NC-based facility.
He also has worked at Pfizer, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Merial.
Darren Head was promoted to CEO of MaSTherCell Global, and Dr. Denis Bedoret to president of MaSTherCell Global.
Head since June 2018 was the president of MaSTherCell Global and was previously the CEO of the biologics contract manufacturer Cytovance Biologics.
Bedoret was the managing director of MaSTherCell SA, the Belgium subsidiary of MaSTherCell Global since March 2017.
Vered Caplan, executive chairman at MaSTherCell Global said, “Under Denis’ leadership, MaSTherCell Belgium has experienced tremendous success, and he has recently taken on additional operational and managerial responsibilities with oversight for the company’s Asian operations. Darren brings to MaSTherCell Global decades of executive experience in the life sciences industry and has provided great leadership to the company.
"We are excited to announce Darren and Denis’ promotions, and we look forward to working with them to further expand MaSTherCell Global’s presence as a leading provider of cell and gene therapy CDMO services.”
The CDMO Pharmaceutics International, Inc. (Pii) has named Kurt Nielsen, PhD, to the position of president and CEO.
Nielsen has more than 20 years of experience in the industry and was most recently the president of Lupin Somerset, a role in which he was responsible for all generic and branded products. He also has held roles at Sandoz, Catalent, and URL Pharma.
Pii’s founder and CEO Dr. Abidi will transition to an advisory role and executive chairman.
Effective since January 15, Dr. Christian Hunzinger is the new senior vice president of project management at the CDMO.
Hunzinger has more than 15 years of industry experience and succeeds the previous CEO Dr. Klaus Schoepe, who will retire later this year after working more than 14 years for the company.
Hunzinger previously was the biotech CMC program lead at Merck, a role in which he was responsible for all issues relating to CMC development.
He held several roles at Merck, and started his career as a research scientist at ProteoSys AG.
Q Laboratories provides challenge testing, test kit validation studies, process validation studies, as well as other custom services.
The company in January promoted Benjamin Bastin to the role of microbiology research and development laboratory supervisor.
“My main objective as the supervisor of the microbiology R&D lab is to portray a team first mentality and to develop the entire staff to their full potential," Bastin told us.
In this role he will assign studies to research teams, work with clients and accreditation bodies to draft and optimize study protocols, and supervise all functions of the laboratory.
According to the Cincinnati, OH-based company, it is the first North America-based lab to be recognized as an Expert Laboratory by the three primary microbiology diagnostic accreditation bodies, MicroVal, AFNOR, and AOAC International.
Robert Leasure, Jr. was been elected as the company’s new president, chief executive officer, and director, effective since January 12.
Leasure has worked with the company’s management team since 2016 as well as its board of directors, to develop a growth strategy for the company.
According to the company, BASi’s board believes Leasure's “demonstrated successes, experience, ability to develop and work collaboratively with the management team, and his ability to create and execute upon visions for the future of the company have been, and will continue to be, critical to growing the company’s business and creating long-term shareholder value.”
Samdi Tech has promoted Michael Scholle to chief operating officer.
Scholle was previously the vice president of operations and technology, and brings more than two decades of experience in drug discovery research to the Chicago, IL-based company.
“As COO, I plan to guide this growth through technical and operational advances that will allow us to expand our biotech and pharma client base by at least two- to three-fold per year,” Scholle said.
“I am excited to be part of the executive management team at Samdi Tech and look forward continuing our growth as the premier label-free assay service provider.”
The drug discovery software developer has named Clare Devlin as financial director. In this role, she will support Optibrium’s growth and expansion plans, which are driven by the success of its StarDrop software, according to the company.
Devlin told us, “In the role I will be working with Optibrium’s executive team to further develop business strategies and help deliver its growth objectives.
"It is a time of significant opportunity for the company as it enters a new phase in its development, and as such the appointment of a Finance Director allows us to apply more strategic focus to our management resources.”
The company last year relocated its headquarters and R&D facilities within Cambridge, UK. According to the company, the additional capacity will accommodate future growth and further investment.
Last year Optibrium launched the latest version of its StarDrop product, and it plans to release new features later this year.
The analytical development CRO, which specializes in small molecule analysis and purification, has named a new leadership team after moving to a larger 16,000 square foot facility in the Boston area.
Paul Lefebvre – who has been with the company since 2008 – was promoted to general manager and will work with Cindy Berger, who is the new vice president of operations.
Heather Lane also has been appointed to lead sales and marketing activities. Lane has more than 19 years of experience in the sector and has held roles at Avista Pharma Solutions and Catalent.
The CRO Navitas Life Sciences has appointed Dr. Steve Galen as the global head of clinical.
Navitas is a Take Solutions company, which operates across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. In this role, Galen will be based out of Princeton, NJ.
Galen has more 20 years of pharmaceutical and CRO industry experience, having held roles at Covance, PRA, inVentiv Health, and Syneos Health
Srinivasan H R, vice chairman and managing director Take Solutions said, “Steve's in-depth pharmaceutical industry experience and thought leadership in the Clinical space will further enhance our well-established market presence as we further widen our global footprint."
