Job changes at Mylan and Elan – People on the move
Robert Martell has stepped down from his position as MethylGene’s vice president and chief medical officer, with his responsibilities being assumed by Jeffrey Besterman and Michel Drouin during the transition period.
Mylan has appointed Jolene Varney as its executive vice president and chief financial officer. Varney has more than 20 years experience in domestic and international finance, most recently as senior vice president of corporate finance with Dr Pepper Snapple Group.
Renee Tannenbaum has appointed executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Elan. In this capacity Tannenbaum will be responsible for ensuring that Elan’s products, in particular Tysabri (natalizumab) deliver on revenue expectations.
Tannenbaumhas more than 25 years experience in the pharma industry at companies including Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck & Co.
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals has appointed Ron Bentsur as its CEO. Bentsur has over a decade of experience in the biotech industry, including six years at Keryx, andmost recently worked as CEO of XTL Biopharmaceuticals.
The terms of Bentsur’s employment include the option to purchase 600,000 shares of common stock in the company.
China-based Simcere Pharmaceutical Group has appointed Peng Wang as its chief scientific officer. In this capacity Wang will lead the company’s R&D team, participate in strategic planning and manage domestic and international research collaborations.
Wang has 20 years experience in pharmaceutical R&D at companies including WuXi PharmaTech and Schering-Plough.
Xention has appointed Calum Graham as director of business development. Graham worked most recently at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as director of scientific licensing in worldwide business development.
