Pharma Pool Jesper Høiland Novo Nordisk Appoints New Leader of North American Affiliate Jesper Høiland has been named as president of Novo Nordisk Inc., the company’s North American affiliate. Mr. Høiland was previously Novo Nordisk’s head of International Operations where he oversaw all of the company’s operations outside of Europe, China, Japan, Korea, and North America. Mr. Høiland joined Novo Nordisk in 1987 as assistant area manager in Denmark. He moved to marketing positions in Canada, Belgium, and France before being promoted to general manager of Novo Nordisk Australia in 1998. In 2000, he was promoted to senior VP of international marketing, and in 2004, senior VP of international operations. Under his leadership, the company’s international operations region has grown its business and organization significantly, leading to the successful spinoff of China as a new, separate region in 2011, among many other achievements. Biotech Pool Dr. Isan Chen Mirati Therapeutics Appoints Chief Medical and Development Officer Mirati Therapeutics has appointed Isan Chen, M.D., as chief medical and development officer. Dr. Chen is a board certified hematologist and oncologist who was most recently chief medical officer of Aragon Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson earlier this year. At Mirati, Dr. Chen is responsible for leading the clinical development of multiple compounds in the Mirati pipeline that target some of the most promising genetic and epigenetic pathways in oncology. Dr. Richard Kenny Immune Design Appoints Chief Medical Officer Immune Design, a biotech company focused on the development of novel immune-based therapies for cancer and other human diseases, today announced the appointment of Richard Kenney, M.D., as its chief medical officer. A distinguished leader in vaccine development, Dr. Kenney brings extensive experience in the research, clinical, and regulatory fields from the biopharmaceutical industry, public health, and governmental environments. He has previously overseen the design, conduct, and advancement of multiple clinical programs at Crucell, Vical, and GSK Biologicals. In this new position, Dr. Kenney is leading the clinical development team at Immune Design to advance the company’s novel immunotherapy product candidates. Dr. Ferdinand Massari ImmusanT Names Chief Medical Officer Ferdinand Massari, M.D. has joined the biopharmaceutical company ImmusanT as senior VP, development and chief medical officer. Dr. Massari is charged with overseeing the clinical development program for the therapeutic vaccine Nexvax2 for celiac disease and its companion diagnostic, as well as future development programs for other autoimmune diseases. Dr. Massari has more than 20 years of experience in all stages of drug development and comes to ImmusanT having most recently served as a consultant providing product candidate evaluation and clinical plan development services to companies and investors. Biopharma Pool John Butler Akebia Therapeutics Names CEO Akebia Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing small molecules to treat anemia and other diseases, has appointed John Butler as its president and CEO. Mr. Butler was most recently CEO of Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals and before that, he held several positions at Genzyme, including president of the cardiometabolic and renal division. Dr. David Roth Infinity Pharmaceuticals Adds to Executive Team Infinity Pharmaceuticals has appointed David Roth, M.D., as senior VP, clinical development and medical affairs. In this newly created role, Dr. Roth is responsible for the clinical development organization and clinical operations. He is also charged with building and overseeing the medical affairs function. Dr. Roth serves as a member of Infinity’s executive leadership team. Dr. Roth brings to Infinity more than 20 years of experience in hematology and oncology research and development. Emerging Pool Dr. Pamela Esposito Ra Pharmaceuticals Appoints Chief Business Officer Ra Pharmaceuticals has appointed Pamela Esposito, Ph.D., as chief business officer to lead strategic and corporate development efforts for the company, which is developing Cyclomimetics, a new drug class with the diversity and specificity of antibodies, coupled with the many benefits of small molecules. Dr. Esposito was most recently senior VP, strategic planning and business development at Angiochem Inc., where she was instrumental in executing several important collaborations for the company. CRO Pool Dr. Gregory Dennis PPD Names VP of Global Product Development Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD) has appointed Gregory Dennis, M.D., as VP of global product development. In this role, Dr. Dennis serves as therapeutic area head, providing medical and scientific expertise for rheumatology, immunology, and inflammatory diseases. Dr. Dennis comes to PPD from UCB, where he served as head of immunology for U.S. medical affairs and participated extensively in guiding compounds through the regulatory approval process. Joseph Sgherza Theorem Clinical Research Names Head of Infectious Disease Franchise A veteran of 24 years in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and CRO industries, Joseph Sgherza has been named VP of biopharmaceutical development for the infectious disease franchise of Theorem Clinical Research. Before joining Theorem, Mr. Sgherza was portfolio director for Parexel International, where he was responsible for the operational execution of pharmaceutical trials in infectious disease, biologics, and oncology. Agency Pool Peter Mollegard Medevoke Hires New Senior Director of Client Service MedEvoke, a divison of Medisys Health Communications, has added Peter Mollegard as its new senior director of client service. Mr. Mollegard has worked in client services in the healthcare communications field for more than 10 years, and is known for his innovative and strategic thinking while leading internal teams in executing million-dollar initiatives for healthcare audiences across various categories. Miriam Swain Tiberiu Vastag Topin Adds User Experience Designer and Senior Digital Project Manager Topin & Associates, a full-service medical marketing communications agency in Chicago, has expanded its staff by adding Miriam Swain as a senior digital project manager and Tiberiu Vastag as a user experience (UX) designer. Both help Topin keep in sync with the growing demand for digital work. Ms. Swain joins Topin from the consumer ad agency shop Meyers & Partners, where she lead its online brand planning, positioning, and launch initiatives. Mr. Vastag has more than 15 years of experience in interactive design and front-end development. Association Pool Dr. Reid Blackwelder American Academy of Family Physicians Names President Reid Blackwelder, M.D., a family physician in Kingsport, Tenn., has assumed the role of president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Previously, he served three years as a director on the AAFP board and a year as president-elect. As president of the AAFP, Dr. Blackwelder will advocate on behalf of family physicians and patients nationwide to inspire positive change in the U.S. healthcare system. Outside the AAFP, he serves as director of the medical student education division for the department of family medicine at East Tennessee State University’s James H. Quillen College of Medicine in Johnson City, Tenn., where he is also a professor of family medicine. He previously served as program director of the Kingsport Family Medicine residency program of ETSU for more than 13 years and remains on faculty at the residency. The AAFP represents 110,600 physicians and medical students nationwide. Technology Pool Denis Connaghan Tim Immel Clinverse Names CEO Clinverse, a global technology and eclinical commerce network for clinical trials, has added Denis Connaghan as CEO. Mr. Connaghan brings more than 25 years of substantial commercialization experience across industry sectors including technology, healthcare, insurance, life sciences, and IT. Before joining Clinverse, he served as a management consultant and in interim executive roles at GMA Healthcare, Infina Connect, and several other life science IT and services companies. With the announcement of Mr. Connaghan as CEO, Tim Immel, founder and former CEO of Clinverse, takes on the role of chief product officer. Biopharma Pool J. Kevin Buchi Lesley Russell TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals Announces New Executives TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel small molecule SMAC mimetic drugs to treat cancer, has appointed J. Kevin Buchi as president and CEO, and Lesley Russell as chief operating officer. Mr. Buchi was most recently corporate VP, global branded products, at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. Dr. Russell is a hematologist/oncologist with more than 20 years of international pharmaceutical industry experience and leadership in the therapeutic areas of hematology/oncology, neurology, psychiatry, pain and inflammation, respiratory medicine, cardiovascular medicine, and stem cell therapy. Dr. Russell was most recently senior VP and global head, research and development, global branded products, for Teva Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Peter Kiener Ambrx Appoints Chief Scientific Officer Ambrx, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, has named Peter Kiener, Ph.D., as chief scientific officer. Dr. Kiener brings decades of expertise in the development of next-generation biologic therapeutics, including multi-specific, antibody based biologics while president, CEO, and cofounder of Zyngenia. Specialty Pool Jeffrey Duchemin Harvard Bioscience Names New CEO Harvard Bioscience, a global developer, manufacturer, and marketer of a broad range of tools to advance life-science research and regenerative medicine, has hired Jeffrey Duchemin, a veteran life science executive, as its CEO. CRO Pool Jamie Gault Deborah Turunjian Kathleen Zajd Novella Clinical Announces New Leadership Roles Novella Clinical, a full-service clinical research organization, has moved three senior executives into new leadership roles within the organization. Jamie Gault has been promoted to global head of regulatory affairs to oversee preparation of regulatory packages for agencies globally. Having joined Novella in 2012 in a senior quality assurance role, Ms. Gault has 25 years experience in regulatory roles both at sponsor and CRO organizations. Her regulatory authority interactions span drugs, biologics, cell and tissue-based products, combination products and medical devices. Deborah Turunjian has been named VP, oncology clinical development, to further expand Novella’s dedicated oncology division. Previously, Ms. Turunjian served as executive leadership for Novella’s business optimization and vendor management departments in addition to her oversight of western U.S. business operations. Kathleen Zajd has been named VP, global quality and compliance. She became an integral part of the Novella senior management team as a result of Novella’s acquisition of Prologue Research International in 2010. Before co-founding Prologue, Ms. Zajd held leadership roles in clinical operations, regulatory and quality with experience spanning more than 25 years across both service organizations and pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Patricia Monteforte Aptiv Solutions Appoints President of Trio Clinical Resourcing Aptiv Solutions, a global biopharmaceutical and medical device development services company, has appointed Patricia Monteforte to the role of president of Trio Clinical Resourcing, an Aptiv Solutions subsidiary devoted to clinical and regulatory staffing. Ms. Monteforte will leverage more than 25 years in the pharmaceutical industry and success leading clinical research organizations to assemble teams of qualified clinical and regulatory professionals to deliver flexible resourcing solutions to meet the current and future challenges in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry. Agency Pool Sara Crawford Kimberly Romagnola Centron Adds New Staff Members Centron, a full-service medical communications agency, has added several new staff members. Mary Anne Carter joins Centron as an account group supervisor, bringing with her eight years of experience in the medical communications industry. Sara Crawford has been named VP account group supervisor of Centron. She brings 15 years of healthcare communications experience with a focus in oncology. She was previously with Brand Pharm and Saatchi & Saatchi Health. Jenny Krieger has been named as a senior account executive. She joins the agency from Grey Healthcare Group. Doug Levy brings to Centron more than 20 years of experience in medical advertising, education, and promotion. As senior VP, management supervisor, he provides expertise in marketing and creative strategy. Kaitlyn McNamara joins the Centron team as a senior art director. She was formerly an art director with Harrison and Star. Jackie Ngai, account group supervisor, joins Centron from DraftFCB. Shilpa Patel, account supervisor, joins Centron from Saatchi & Saatchi Health. Kimberly Romagnola brings more than 20 years of experience to Centron as senior VP, managing director. She previously held senior VP positions at DraftFCB and Cline Davis & Mann. Eva Schicker joins the team as a senior art director with more than 17 years of pharmaceutical advertising experience. She was VP, associate creative director of art, at Euro RSCG Life. Warren Van Name brings more than 20 years of experience to Centron as a senior project Manager. He has held similar positions at agencies such as Cline Davis & Mann and GlobalHue. Consulting Pool Dr. Stephen Sun ParagonRx Names Former FDA Official as Chief Medical Officer ParagonRx, an inVentiv Health company offering product safety risk management and healthcare systems consulting to pharmaceutical and medical device companies, has appointed Stephen Sun, M.D., as chief medical officer, advising clients on regulatory and safety issues. Dr. Sun, formerly with the FDA, reports directly to ParagonRx President Jeffrey Fetterman Technology Pool Steven Herne ERT Names Chief Commercial Officer ERT, a global solution provider for patient safety and efficacy endpoint data collection, has appointing Steven Herne as executive VP and chief commercial officer. Mr. Herne has more than 19 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, of which he spent the last 14 years focused on business development, strategic development, product management, and marketing.
