News from Akorn, Anthera and Alkermes – People on the move
Generics pharma firm Akorn has appointed Adrienne Graves as its new director.
Formerly the president and CEO of Santen, Graves currently serves on several boards in the ophthalmology sector, including TearLab Corporation, Encore Vision, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology Foundation.
Akorn CEO Raj Rai said: “Dr. Graves brings years of experience and expertise in ophthalmology. We look forward to her leadership and insight as we continue to build the ophthalmic segment of our business.”
Anthera Pharmaceuticals has drafted Bogdan Dziurzynski onto its board of directors.
Dziurzynski is currently a freelance strategic regulatory management consultant for biotech firms. He currently serves on the boards of Dendreon Corporation and the Biologics Consulting Group.
He joins Anthera as it prepares to advance several of its late-stage clinical trials.
Chairman Christopher Henney said: "Bogdan's extensive global regulatory expertise and broad industry experience will offer us a great perspective as we continue to navigate the evolving FDA regulatory landscape."
Mark Stejbach has been appointed chief commercial officer at Alkermes.
In his new role he will take charge of the marketing and sales team for VIVITROL (naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension) as well as late-stage pipeline compounds.
Prior to Alkermes, Stejback was chief commercial officer at Tengion.
Of his new role, he said: “I am thrilled to join Alkermes at this extremely exciting time for the company, and I see tremendous potential for VIVITROL as well as the robust pipeline of new product candidates.”
ThomasMcGauley has stepped in as acting CFO for Galectin Therapeutics following the departure of Anthony Squeglia.
McGauley has been the company’s director of finance accounting since 2009. He joined the firm from deCode genetics, where he was director of financial reporting.
Of Squeglia’s parting, the firm said only that his employment agreement expires in March, before thanking him for his service.
Idenix Pharmaceuticals has named Thomas Hodgson as chairman of the board.
Formerly the chief operating officer at Abbott Laboratories, Hodgson has served on the human viral disease R&D (research and development) bod’s board for the past decade.
The firm also appointed Radius Health president and CEO Michael Wyzga as chairman of the audit committee. Wyzga was also chief financial officer od Genzyme, until its acquisition from Sanofi in 2011.
"Tom has served on Idenix's Board for 10 years and he has made significant contributions to Idenix's progress during that time,"said Ron Renaud, president and CEO of Idenix.
He added:"We are also pleased to have Mike join the board, bringing a depth of industry experience from his notable 13-year tenure with Genzyme.”
