Charles River rejigs exec roles and preclinical organisation
Foremost among the changes is the selection of Davide Molho as the head of its research models and services (RMS) unit after the retirement of current president Real Renaud at the end of 2010.
The next major section of CRL’s restructuring plan focuses on its preclinical services (PCS) business. The unit’s organisational structure has been modified to provide a “dual-accountability” system that has both site-level and global management teams.
CRL belives that this approach will help it leverage its lean six sigma expertise, under the leadership of Joseph Siglin, divisional VP, across its entire operations to develop standardised best-in-class processes that can be applied to all its projects.
As part of this reorganisation senior execs have been asked to take on specific oversight responsibilities. Brian Bathgate, CRL’s corporate senior VP, will take charge of the firm’s laboratory services business.
Corporate VP Stephen Durham will head up toxicology and pathology testing operations, while Christopher Perkin takes charge of CRL’s PCS operations in North America and China.
Nancy Gillett, global president of the PCS unit, explained that: “Irrespective of where the client is located, or in which of our facilities they place their drug development programmes, our new matrix structure will enable us to…provide the services they need.”
Client focus
CRL sales operations are also being restructured in what the firm describes as a move away from a traditional sales approach to a more client driven offering that better addresses the needs of individual sponsors.
The firm is setting up three specialist units to cater for global biopharmaceutical companies, small and mid-sized organisations and finally a separate group to work with researchers and academic institutions.
