Jing-Wen Kuo

Icon has named Mario Rocci as president of development solutions.Rocci first joined the contract research organisation (CRO) in 2008, when it acquired Prevalere Life Sciences where he was serving as CEO.Since the takeover, he has led Icon’s global bioanalytical business.Peter Gray, CEO at Icon, said: "Mario has done an excellent job in building and shaping our bioanalytical capabilities and under his tenure we have been successful in forming strategic partnerships in this area with some large pharma clients.”PPD has instated Jasmine Cui as chief scientific officer of its subsidiary BioDuro.Cui has spent a large part of her 15 year career at Merck research laboratories (Merck & Co), where she served as director of cardiovascular diseases amongst other roles.In her new role, Cui will provide scientific leadership to BioDuro's integrated drug discovery services across a range of disease areas, as well as expanding its use of novel technologies for small and large molecules and in stem cells and imaging.Of the new appointment, BioDuro leader Andreas Tschirky said: "Her proven expertise in the pharmaceutical industry will help us deliver innovation in areas such as medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, discovery biology, drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK), and I am pleased to welcome her to our company.”Meghann Smith has been named senior director of global therapeutic strategic development at Ockham.Prior to joining Ockham, Smith was a senior member of the management team in charge of oversight and risk mitigation strategies in all phases of study development at PPD.Ockham’s CEO, James Baker said: "As Ockham continues to expand its Oncology experience, we are pleased to have Meghann join our group. “Meghann will provide additional value to our current and potential clients as we help navigate them through the Oncology clinical trial process."Bharatt Chowrira has been named Addex Pharmaceuticals’ new CEO.Until January, Chowrira served as senior VP ad chief operating officer at Nektar Therapeutics.He now joins Addex with 17-years of experience, combining a “unique blend of research, licensing, corporate development, operations and legal expertise.”"We are delighted to have Dr Chowrira take the helm at Addex. Dr Chowrira has achieved much success in his career, including being involved in the turnaround of two biopharmaceutical companies," said André Mueller, Chairman of Addex Pharmaceuticals.Jing-wen Kuo is set to take on the role of chief scientific officer at Anika Therapeutics.For the last nine years, Kuo has served in a variety of consulting capacities to many US and international clients specializing in hyaluronic acid based medical products.“Dr. Kuo's extensive knowledge of Anika's products and his experience in commercializing HA products and bringing them to market will be a significant strategic advantage to Anika,” said Charles Sherwood, president and chief executive officer.IDEA has expanded its project management team with two new additions in Suzanne Axford-Bryars and Lidia Markovic.Axford-Bryars, who returns to IDEA after a stint at an Italian medical education and healthcare advertising firm, said of her new role: “IDEA has always struck a chord that resonated with me. “Having worked in several consultancies across our industry, the methods adopted in the main were process driven, standardised and often lacked creativity and imagination.“IDEA’s approach to strategic differentiation for its clients falls into a completely different realm.”Markovic joins IDEA from Movianto UK, where she acted as key account manager.She said: “Pharma is such a diverse industry of opportunity and IDEA is a company that really offers diverse challenges every day. “I look forward to continuing to build key relationships with IDEA’s growing client base and broadening my knowledge further.”Tris Pharma appointed Dominick DiPaolo as VP of quality and Adam Drapczuk as controller and director of finance.DiPaolo has led quality operations at different generic companies including Barr, Wockhardt Pharmaceuticals, and most recently G&W Laboratories. At Tris, he will be in charge of all aspects of quality.Drapczuk will be responsible for all accounting and financial activities and reporting.Ketan Mehta, president and CEO of Tris, said: “Tris' emphasis on innovation has paid dividends via a rich pipeline and several FDA approved products. “Now with multiple branded and generic regulatory filings under FDA review, it was imperative to strengthen our investment in quality, creating a new position of vice president of quality. “Further, as these products come to market, financial management will grow ever more complex necessitating the need for dedicated financial leadership.”Cangene has installed John Sedor as president and CEO.Sedor previously served as president, CEO and director of CPEX Pharmaceuticals.Board chair Craig Baxter said: "John's appointment is the culmination of a rigorous and thoughtful search process over the past six months.“We believe he is the ideal CEO for the Company. “He is a visionary leader and strong manager who brings a successful track record of growing companies and efficiently managing them to create value for shareholders, customers, partners and employees.”PRA has appointed Frederick Lewis as Vice President of Psychiatry and Scientific Affairs in their therapeutic expertise group.Lewis, who received the President’s Award for research as an associate professor at Nova Southeastern University's College of Osteopathic Medicine, has authored many publications in the area of psychopharmacology.At PRA he will support project teams and offer guidance to clients in all aspects of clinical drug development."Adding Fred to our team of experts strengthens our ability to provide comprehensive strategic consultancy for our clients' projects,” said Dr. Michael Kirchengast, VP and head of PRA's scientific affairs department.

Jing-Wen Kuo

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