Appointments at DSM, West, PharmaNet and ACI – People on the move

Alexander Wessels​ has been appointed president and CEO of DSM Pharmaceutical Products​.

Wessels, who previously led DSM’s Food Specialties unit, will take charge of the firm’s drug ingredients business and growth strategy. Prior to joining DSM he held positions at Unilever, ICI, and Campina

West Pharmaceutical Services​ has named Jeffrey Hunt​ as president of its pharmaceutical packaging systems business. Hunt, West in July 2010 as VP of strategic planning and business development, has previously served as president of patient care and safety products at Covidien,

PharmaNet ​has hired Catherine Derasp as its new VP clinical operations for its 350 bed Phase I clinics in Montreal and Quebec City, Canada. Derasp has worked in early-phase clinical research for more than 15 year, specialising in operational quality and process improvement.

OmniComm Systems​ has appointed Keith Howells​ as VP of Engineering. Most recently, Howells served as SVP of Development for Medidata Solutions.

Applied Clinical Intelligence​ (ACI) has named Heather Mellon​ as VP of Client services. Mellon, who was previously executive director of business operations at United BioSource, will have responsibility for the sales and marketing efforts at ACI

The US Healthcare Distribution Management Association​ (HDMA) has announced Patrick Kelly​ as its new SVP Government Affairs.

Kelly, who held a similar position at the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) will lead all of the association's federal and state legislative and regulatory initiatives.

Healthcare data collection firm Hooper Holmes​ has promoted Lori Gorman​ to the newly-created position of COO, Gorman, who joined the firm in 2010, previously had responsibility for Heritage Labs and Hooper Holmes Health & Wellness.

MPI Research​ has hired Dale Cooper​ as its Director of Clinical Medicine. Dr. Cooper will oversee animal care for the company's three core research divisions, Drug Safety Evaluation, Discovery Services, and Bioanalytical/Analytical Services.