People: Ex-Novartis Chair Takes $25k Daily Consulting Job
Though he officially stepped down as Chairman in February, Dr. Daniel Vasella will stay on to provide certain consulting services to Novartis.
“We are pleased that we will be able to call on Daniel Vasella's services and to have the opportunity to benefit from his knowledge and long-term experience in shaping a global healthcare leader," said Dr. Ulrich Lehner, Novartis Chairman ad interim.
Vasella will receive $25,000 per consulting day with Novartis which, on top of $2.9m payout and 31,724 unrestricted shares (currently valued at $2.3m) which equates to quite a nice payday for the former Chairman and CEO, though this figure sits at just a tenth of the $78m originally expected, according to Bloomberg.
Talking of CEOs, there is a new one at antibody discoverer Visterra.
Dr. Brian Pereira will replace Steven Brugger in the role of CEO and President, as well as taking a place on the Board. He previously served as President and CEO of AMAG Pharmaceuticals between 2006 and 2011, and before that he was President and CEO of a Tufts Medical Center Physician Organization.
“Brian brings his proven industry leadership with an impressive track record for managing high-performance teams and building significant company value, and these skills will augment the expertise of the existing Visterra team to advance the company’s strategy and product development programs,” said Alan Crane, Visterra’s Chairman.
There is a new member of the board at Sophiris Bio in the form of Joseph Turner.
Turner has over 25 years of financial management experience in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, having served at companies including Myogen (sold to Gilead), Centaur Pharmaceuticals.
“Joe brings extensive experience to our Board of Directors in strategic planning, finance, investment banking and investor relations in the biotech industry,” said Randall Woods, President and CEO of Sophiris.
Sophiris is a biopharmaceutical company developing a clinical-stage, targeted treatment for the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia. For more news concerning the biopharma industry, check out our new sister publication Biopharma-Reporter.com.
In other news, Dr. Larry Hsu, President and CEO at Impax Laboratories, has announced he is to step down from the role. He will remain on the board of directors and will therefore work with Mary Pendergast who has been appointed to the board, as of earlier this month.
Natale Ricciardi, who worked for almost 40 years at Pfizer before retiring in 2011, has been appointed to the board of directors at Dynavax.
And finally, Alexza Pharmaceuticals has announced that Dr. Michael Holfingerhas joined the Company as Vice President, Manufacturing & Global Supply Chain Management.
