Biovitrum, China Biopharma, Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, Pipex Pharma and CH2M Hill - People on the move
Pipex Pharma and CH2M Hill have all had people on the move in the
world of pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Swedish biopharma Biovitrum last week announced that it has secured the expertise of current AstraZeneca AB CEO, Martin Nicklasson. Nicklasson will take up his position as CEO and president of Biovitrum as of May 14. Nicklasson held a series of positions within AstraZeneca, including as executive vice president of global marketing, as well as roles in Kabi Pharmacia and Astra prior to taking up the job at Biovitrum. One of the largest biopharmas in Europe, Biovitrum has operations in Sweden and the UK and focuses on the development of drugs for the treatment of obesity, diabetes, inflammation and eye and blood diseases, among other niche indications. China Biopharma has also recently announced a couple of changes at the top, with John Murray and Qiumeng Wang today having completed their first week in their new roles as chief financial officer and chief operations officer respectively. Muuray has held a series of financial positions, including as CFO at American Bio Medica. Wang moves to China Biopharma following a six year stint at the company's subsidiary, Hainan CITIC Bio-Pharmaceutical Development (HCBD), where he was general manager. Prior to HCBD, Wang worked for several years at Hong Kong United Laboratories and Harbin Pharmaceutical in China. Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals yesterday announced the appointment of Brian Abeysekera as vice president of manufacturing at the US-based company. In the newly created position, Abeysekera will guide the manufacture of material for the company's clinical trial programmes and prepare the firm for the commercial scale-up of its targeted radiotherapeutics and molecular imaging pharmaceutical products. Having joined the company after over 20 years at leading radioisotope manufacturer MDS Nordion, Abeysekera has experience in establishing good manufacturing practice (GMP) compliance as well as designing, developing and validating aseptic manufacturing facilities. Speciality pharmaceutical company Pipex Pharmaceuticals also yesterday announced a new manufacturing boss, with Kay Stremler being appointed vice president of manufacturing at the firm. Stremler takes over as the company pushes forward with its lead product Coprexa (tetrathiomolybdate), preparing for the filing of a New Drug Application (NDA) and building on its GMP manufacturing abilities in Michigan in the US. Stremler's previous positions include roles at Pfizer company Esperion therapeurics, Boehringer-Ingelheim and Immunex. CH2M Hill, an engineering, construction and operations firm that provides technical and regulatory solutions for its clients, has announced a new senior vice president for the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology section of its manufacturing and life sciences business group. Michael Avant will take up the role, responsible for expanding the company's global operations and project delivery within the pharma and biotech sector, following several years working in the pharmaceutical and biologics industries on projects in the US, Europe and Singapore. Most recently he was senior vice president of pharmaceutical biotechnology operations for US technical solutions firm Parsons.
