Leadership & People 2010

• Roche plots layoffs as it focuses on R&D
  Roche has confirmed that it plans to cut jobs, as reported by newspaper Sonntag earlier this week. Billing it as an "Operational Excellence initiative," Roche says it will review it structure over the coming months and make a formal layoff announcement by the end of the year.
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• Bausch + Lomb Names Michael J. Rowe as Corporate Vice President, Human Resources
  Bausch + Lomb, the global eye health company, has named Michael J. Rowe as corporate vice president, Human Resources.
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• UPDATE 1-Roche says no decision on job cuts this week
  Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG (ROG.VX) said on Sunday it would not make any decision on job cuts this week, after Swiss newspaper Sonntag reported it could be about to cut thousands of positions.
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• Celgene names new chief financial officer
  Celgene Corp (CELG.O) said on Thursday it named Jacqualyn Fouse chief financial officer, effective September 27, to replace David Gryska, who will leave the company on November 1 to pursue other opportunities.
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• Regenicin Appoints Amgen Co-founder Dr. Joseph Rubinfeld to Board of Directors
  Regenicin, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: WDSTD), a clinical-stage biotechnology company, announced today that Dr. Joseph Rubinfeld, one of the four original founders of Amgen, Inc., has agreed to join the company's board of directors.
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• Thermo Fisher Scientific Expands Presence in China with New Technology Center in Shanghai
  Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), the world leader in serving science, today announced it has opened a Technology Center in Shanghai, building on its engineering and development capabilities to meet the specific needs of customers in China.
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• ICON Appoints Alan Morgan To Role Of Group President, Clinical Research Services
  ICON plc, a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, today announced the appointment of Mr. Alan Morgan to the position of Group President, Clinical Research Services.
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• J&J creates new quality control position
  Johnson & Johnson is creating a new position to oversee companywide quality, manufacturing and compliance issues and appointing chief quality officers for each of its three major business units.
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• Alcon Shareholders Conditionally Elect Novartis-Designated Directors
  Alcon, Inc. (NYSE:ACL) announced the following action was taken by shareholders at the extraordinary general meeting of the Alcon shareholders held today in Zug, Switzerland:
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• Selecta Biosciences Appoints Werner Cautreels, Ph.D., as Company's First CEO
  Selecta Biosciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing synthetic nanoparticle vaccines and immunotherapies, announced today that Werner Cautreels, Ph.D. has been appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer.
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• Ranbaxy Board Announces Change In Executive Leadership
  Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited (“Ranbaxy”) today announced that Mr. Atul Sobti will step down from the positions of CEO and Managing Director of Ranbaxy, effective August 19, 2010 and Mr. Arun Sawhney, currently Ranbaxy's President, Global Pharmaceutical Business, has been appointed as Managing Director, effective August 20, 2010.
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• Bionovo Adds Dr. James H. Pickar, Former Executive at Wyeth, to Medical Advisory Board
  Bionovo, Inc. (Nasdaq: BNVI) announced today the appointment of James H. Pickar, M.D. to the company's Medical Advisory Board. Dr. Pickar is a world renowned leader and researcher in the area of women's health.
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• Lilly calls latest Indiana job cuts 'permanent'
  Pharma's new international focus isn't just a temporary stopgap--at least not for Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY). The company notified the state of Indiana that it's not planning more layoffs at four sites.
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• Shire Appoints Gráinne Higgins Global Vice President of Human Resources for Human Genetic Therapies Business
  Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced that Gráinne Higgins has been appointed Global Vice President of Human Resources for its Human Genetic Therapies (HGT) business.
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• Astellas to shutter NY facilities, cut jobs
  Astellas Pharma is the latest drugmaker to plan a shutdown of U.S. facilities. The Japanese company will shutter operations in Ardsley and Melville, NY, both of which it acquired in the $4 billion buyout of OSI Pharmaceuticals, Dow Jones reports.
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• Ambit Biosciences Announces Alan J. Lewis, Ph.D. as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
  Ambit Biosciences Corporation (Ambit), a recognized global leader in kinase drug discovery and development, announced today that its Board of Directors has completed a thorough executive search and appointed Alan J. Lewis, Ph.D. as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Company.
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• GlaxoSmithKline to Implement New Compensation Program for U.S. Sales Professionals
  GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) today confirmed that it will implement a new system for evaluating and compensating its sales professionals beginning in 2011.
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• Ablynx Announces Change in Management
  Ablynx [Euronext Brussels: ABLX] today announced that its Chief Scientific Officer, Debbie Law, has resigned from her position at Ablynx, effective 31 August, as she will be returning to the USA with her family for personal reasons.
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• GE Healthcare Opens New $15 Million Life Sciences Manufacturing Center in Wales, U.K.
  Life sciences giant GE Healthcare has opened a $15 million medical technology manufacturing facility in Cardiff, Wales. The new facility is based at the 30-acre Maynard Centre, where the company already employs over 400 people.
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• GlobeImmune cuts 25% of staff
  Roughly six months after raising $17.5 million for Phase III work, Louisville, CO-based GlobeImmune says it has laid of 15 of its 60 employees--or 25 percent.
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• Amgen Appoints Ronald D. Sugar to the Company's Board of Directors
  Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) today announced that its board of directors has appointed Ronald D. Sugar to the company's board, effective immediately.
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• Former McKinsey & Company Chairman and Managing Director Ian Davis Appointed to Johnson & Johnson Board of Directors
  Ian E.L. Davis, former Chairman and Worldwide Managing Director of McKinsey & Company, today was appointed to the Board of Directors of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), the world's most broadly based health care products company.
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• J&J plant overhaul prompts 300 layoffs
  Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) has filed its redemption plan for the recall-plagued plant in Fort Washington, PA. J&J is set to keep the plant closed for months--until the middle of 2011--as it retrofits the facility, installs new equipment and retrains workers.
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• CSL Announces New Biotech Facility
  CSL Limited today announced a major biotechnology project at CSL's manufacturing site in Broadmeadows, Australia.
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• UPDATE 1-Amgen names Novartis finance executive to be CFO
  Amgen Inc (AMGN.O), the world's largest biotechnology company, said on Thursday it named a top finance executive at Switzerland's Novartis AG (NOVN.VX) its chief financial officer, effective Sept. 1.
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• Sanofi ops shift threatens up to 600 jobs
  Sanofi-Aventis is moving work around--and the changes are claiming jobs. As Pharmalot reports, the French drugmaker is shifting laboratory and regulatory affairs work from Great Valley, PA, to other locations, putting 400 employees and 200 contract workers in jeopardy.
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• Former Pfizer Senior Vice President Named CEO of Berlin Pharmaceutical Industry in a Partnership to Diversify and Expand Company Business in Asia
  Berlin Pharmaceutical Industry Co., Ltd., Thailand's leading manufacturer and marketer of generic pharmaceuticals, named Amal Naj, a former Senior Vice President of New York-based Pfizer Inc., Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board.
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• John J. Castellani to Lead PhRMA as New President & CEO
  Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) today announced that John J. Castellani will assume the role of President and Chief Executive Officer, effective September 1, 2010.
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• Genzyme maps big plans for R&D, manufacturing expansion
  Genzyme (NASDAQ: GENZ) isn't letting a little manufacturing crisis get in the way of its ambitious long-term growth plans. The big biotech outfit has blueprinted a massive 757,000-square-foot expansion at its Framingham, MA facility, with some 400,000 square feet of new space reserved for its research operations.
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• BASF Pharma formed to simplify ops
  Chemicals manufacturer BASF reorganises Swiss business to cut active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing site complexity and simplify process operations. Late last week the German giant announced the formation of BASF Pharma SA, combining the Orgamol Pharma Solutions and Fine Chemicals businesses that it operates in the Evionnaz municipality in south-west of the country.
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• GlaxoSmithKline Sells Italian Research Center
  GlaxoSmithKline completed the sale of its Italian research center to the drug development service provider Aptuit, the company said Thursday.
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• UPDATE 3-Biogen names Exelixis' Scangos CEO
  Biotechnology company Biogen Idec Inc (BIIB.O) named George Scangos of Exelixis Inc (EXEL.O) as chief executive on Wednesday, placing a scientist in the top job for the first time in 25 years.
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• INTERVIEW-AstraZeneca CEO sees China growth doubling
  Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca (AZN.L: Quote) sees growth in its key China market doubling over the next five years, expanding its footprint in the world's fastest growing economy as it moved to breach the $1 billion revenue mark, chief executive David Brennan said on Saturday.
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• Stryker Announces Election of New Director
  Stryker Corporation (NYSE: SYK) announced an increase in the size of its Board of Directors to nine and the election of Dr. Roch Doliveux as a director.
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• DSM Announces Christophe Dardel as President of DSM Biomedical
  DSM Biomedical, a global leader in biomedical materials science, announced today Mr. Christophe Dardel’s appointment as President effective May 21, 2010.
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• Pfizer plans to shutter one vax plant, beef up another
  Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) isn't just cutting manufacturing ops in the wake of its merger with Wyeth. The pharma giant is actually adding to its staff at its facility in Lincoln, NE, which develops and manufactures animal vaccines.
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• Actavis appoints Claudio Albrecht CEO
  Actavis Group, the international generic pharmaceuticals company, today announced the appointment of former Ratiopharm leader Dr. Claudio Albrecht as its new CEO.
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• Takeda to Expand Presence in Asia with Operations in South Korea
  Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Osaka, Japan, “Takeda”) announced today it will establish a new commercial subsidiary in South Korea.
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• Biovail-Valeant combo to claim up to 870 jobs
  Yesterday's press release about the Biovail-Valeant Pharmaceuticals merger didn't mention one key fact: Combining the two companies will lead to layoffs. Up to 20 percent of the combined workforce--or up to 870 jobs.
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• Does your severance pay beat Eli Lilly's?
  With job-cuts trend sweeping Big Pharma over the past several years, plenty of employees have been offered severance packages (or had severance forced upon them).
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• Sanofi cuts costs to cope with Euro trouble
  We all know that, like its Big Pharma colleagues, Sanofi-Aventis has been on a cost-cutting drive: restructuring, consolidating, and cutting jobs. But will European healthcare cuts force the French drugmaker to reduce spending--and payrolls--even more?
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• Abbott Vascular Lays Off Workers
  Abbott Vascular, Temecula’s largest private employer and a division of Abbott Laboratories, has laid off 101 workers in its Temecula and Murrieta operations and 19 in Santa Clara, according to a notice filed by the company.
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• Bausch + Lomb Names Robert E. Grant as CEO and President of Its Surgical Business
  Bausch + Lomb, the global eye health company, has named Robert E. Grant chief executive officer and president of its global Surgical business, effective August 1.
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• UPDATE 1-Genmab CEO quits Danish biotech under fire
  The chief executive of Genmab (GEN.CO) stepped down on Tuesday following criticism of recent mis-steps at the Danish biotechnology company, whose shares have fallen more than 80 percent in the past three years.
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• Pfizer Announces Creation Of Rare Disease Research Unit
  Pfizer Inc. on June 14 announced the creation of a new Research Unit focused on rare diseases.
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• Gilead Sciences appoints SVP for liver disease unit
  Gilead Sciences has chosen Dr John McHutchison as the new senior vice-president (SVP) of its liver disease therapeutics division.
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• GSK cuts 700 sales and marketing jobs
  Well, the rumors you've been hearing have been confirmed: GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) has been slimming down its staff roster.
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• Genzyme and Carl Icahn Reach Agreement
  Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ) and Carl C. Icahn and certain of his affiliated private investment funds announced today an agreement to settle their proxy contest.
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• New Bayer CEO to aim for sales, not margins
  Waiting in the wings for his role as Bayer CEO, Marijn Dekkers is promising to focus on sales growth rather than profit margins when he takes the stage.
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• UPDATE 1-Genzyme nominates former Amgen exec to its board
  Genzyme Corp (GENZ.O) said on Monday it has nominated Dennis Fenton, a former executive vice president at biotechnology company Amgen Inc (AMGN.O), to its board of directors.
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• Biogen Idec Provides Update on CEO Search and Management Changes
  Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB - News), a global biotechnology leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of innovative therapies, today announced that the Board of Directors is in the final stages of selecting a Chief Executive Officer and expects to announce the appointment in the coming weeks.
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• Elan Corporation, plc Board Announces CEO Agreement
  As a key part of its commitment to excellence in corporate governance and prudent executive succession management, Elan Corporation, plc announced today that its Board and Mr. Kelly Martin, Chief Executive Officer have agreed to transition his employment contract from an open-ended agreement to a fixed term agreement.
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• Teva sees opportunities in Latin America, Asia
  Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ: TEVA) sees chances to grow in Latin America, including such major markets as Brazil and Mexico.
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• Pfizer Appoints Mikael Dolsten President Of Worldwide Research And Development
  Today (26 May), Pfizer Inc. named Mikael Dolsten, M.D., PhD, President of Pfizer Worldwide Research and Development, as the Company completes its integration of these functions following the Wyeth acquisition.
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• Martin Mackay to Lead AstraZeneca's Research and Development Organisation
  AstraZeneca today announced the appointment of Martin Mackay to the newly-created position of President of R&D.
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• UPDATE 2-Icahn to urge removal of Genzyme CEO from board
  Activist investor Carl Icahn said he will ask the board of biotechnology company Genzyme Corp (GENZ.O) to consider removing Chief Executive Henri Termeer from his post as chairman of the board.
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• Astellas staffs up for China sales drive
  Big Pharma has been jostling for market share in China. Now, the likes of Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and Bayer will have still more competition in that fast-growing market in the form of Japan's Astellas Pharma.
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• AZ replaces Nexium sales reps with call center
  What if a call center worked just as well as hundreds of sales reps on the street? That's the question raised by BNet Pharma after AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) disbanded almost all of its in-person sales force for the stomach drug Nexium and replaced it with telephone support.
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• Icahn more than doubles Genzyme stake
  Carl Icahn has more than doubled his stake in biotechnology giant Genzyme Corp (GENZ.O), where he is trying to get a board seat, the billionaire activist investor reported on Monday.
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• Bayer to open biotech center in Pfizer's old digs
  To help in its hunt for new biotech collaborators active in hematology, oncology, cardiology, diagnostics and women's health, Bayer HealthCare is planning to open a U.S. Innovation Center and relocate 65 of its researchers to Pfizer's (NYSE: PFE) old offices in San Francisco.
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• Pfizer to cut 6,000 jobs
  Drugmaker Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) will cut 6,000 jobs, or 18 percent of the workforce, at its 78 manufacturing plants over the next five years as it pares back operations following last year's purchase of rival Wyeth.
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• Merck services center adds 150 jobs in Dublin
  With all the talk about job cuts this week, we thought we'd leave you with some job creation to mull over the weekend. Merck (NYSE: MRK) is establishing a new business services center in Dublin, aiming to create up to 150 jobs in the process.
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• Derma Sciences Opens First International Office in London
  Derma Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:DSCI) , a medical device and pharmaceutical company focused on advanced wound care, today announced that it has established an international subsidiary, Derma Sciences Europe Limited, and will soon be opening an office near London, England.
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• Takeda plots 1,400 job cuts at U.S. ops
  Takeda Pharmaceutical says it is going to cut more than 1,400 jobs from its U.S. operations as it preps for generic competition to diabetes blockbuster Actos, Chicago Breaking Business reports.
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• Pfizer to sell NY building, cut up to 1,400 jobs
  Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) slapped a For Sale sign on a Manhattan high-rise yesterday as it prepares to lay off or move up to 1,400 employees who work in the city, the New York Times reports.
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• Novartis CEO goes on a 'decluttering' drive
  New Novartis (NYSE:NVS) chief Joe Jiminez is talking execution again. In an interview with the Financial Times, Jiminez described some of his initiatives--and they're all about the E word.
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• Lilly slices 200 sales and marketing jobs
  The ax will fall today on some 200 sales and marketing support jobs at Eli Lilly, the Indianapolis Star reports. The cuts will come in Lilly's U.S. biomedicine group, and more than half of the job losses will come in the company's hometown of Indianapolis.
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• Genzyme to jettison three units as it bunkers down
  Under assault by Carl Icahn and facing stiff regulatory oversight following some embarrassing manufacturing blunders, Genzyme is getting back to basics.
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• Icahn wants Termeer off Genzyme board
  We all know that Carl Icahn has complaints about Genzyme CEO Henri Termeer. He criticized Termeer repeatedly as Genzyme's manufacturing troubles built and shortages of its drugs allowed competitors to get their feet into that market.
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• Sanofi-aventis To Revamp Canadian Operations Citing Lack Of Patent Protection, To Cut About 70 Jobs - Update
  Sanofi-aventis Canada, a unit of sanofi-aventis Group (SNY: News ), announced Wednesday a revamp of its Canadian operations prompted by issues pertaining to the protection of intellectual property, and declining access to innovative medicines. Close to 70 positions would be axed following the move, the company said.
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• Change in Sanofi-Aventis Executive Committee
  Sanofi-aventis announced today that Laurence Debroux, Senior Vice President, Chief Strategic Officer and member of the Executive Committee, has decided to leave the Group to pursue another professional challenge as of July 1, 2010
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• Statement from Genencor CEO Tjerk de Ruiter Upon Being Elected as Chair of the Industrial & Environmental Section and Board of Directors of the Biotechnology Industry Association (BIO)
  "BIO has long been a strong and outspoken advocate for the critical, game-changing work of the biotechnology sector.  It is my goal to build upon these achievements and push forward, with my Board colleagues, an aggressive agenda that fosters the right policy environment for the biobased solutions that our industry brings to the market."
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• Celgene Corporation Announces Senior Management Succession
  Celgene Corporation today announced its senior management succession plan.
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• Merck plans to shutter three NJ R&D facilities
  A Merck spokesperson has confirmed to Pharmalot that the company plans to close two of its sites in New Jersey this year, with a third facility in the state being phased out by 2012.
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• Merck Announces Senior Management Appointments
  Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) today announced changes in responsibilities for three of its top leaders.
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• Amgen Appoints Robert A. Bradway President and Chief Operating Officer
  Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) today announced that the Board of Directors has appointed Robert A. Bradway president and chief operating officer (COO), effective May 11.
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• Westphal grabs reins at GSK's SR One, founds new venture group
  Christoph Westphal is adding a new chapter to his story as a prime mover-and-shaker in biotech circles. Xconomy reports that Westphal has resigned as CEO of Sirtris, a high-profile developer in Cambridge acquired by GlaxoSmithKline, to take over as head of GSK's biopharma investment arm--SR One.
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• Dr. Jörg Reinhardt appointed new CEO of Bayer HealthCare
  Dr. Jörg Reinhardt has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Management of Bayer HealthCare AG and Chairman of the Bayer HealthCare Executive Committee effective August 15, 2010.
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• Elan Announces Exploration Of EDT Separation And Board Changes
  Elan Corporation, plc has decided to explore the possibility of a separation of its Elan Drug Technologies (EDT) business.
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• Baxter Appoints Ludwig Hantson as President, International
  Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) announced today that Ludwig Hantson, Ph.D. has been appointed corporate vice president and president, International. He will assume his new role on Monday, May 3.
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• Ralph Whitworth Elected to Genzyme's Board of Directors
  Genzyme Corp. (NASDAQ: GENZ) and Relational Investors LLC announced today that they have amended their mutual cooperation agreement and that Ralph Whitworth, principal and co-founder of Relational, has been elected to Genzyme's board of directors, effective immediately.
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• Overhauling U.S. pharma biz, Novartis lays off 250
  More change is afoot at Novartis. After shuffling global management earlier this year, the company is rearranging its U.S. pharmaceuticals business.
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• Report: Boston Scientific didn't create 331 promised jobs
  Massachusetts state records indicate that Boston Scientific didn't create the 331 jobs the medical devicemaker promised four years ago in return for tax incentives.
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• Schering goodbye pay dwarfs Merck CEO's 2009 compensation
  It may have been a good year for dealmaking at Merck in 2009, but that wasn't good enough to keep CEO Richard Clark's pay up to 2008 levels.
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• Paper: Roche, Novartis threaten to leave UK
  Drugmakers may not have the power to force the U.K. to pay for their meds, but they do have one massive bargaining chip: Jobs. Witness Swiss drugmakers Novartis and Roche, which reportedly are threatening to pull out of Britain and move some 5,000 jobs abroad.
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• Bristol-Myers Squibb Board Elects Charles Bancroft Chief Financial Officer
  Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) today announced that the company's Board of Directors has elected Charles Bancroft chief financial officer effective April 8, 2010.
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• AstraZeneca's Chip Davis Joins PhRMA
  Chip Davis, Vice President of Corporate External Relations, AstraZeneca, is joining the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) as Senior Operating Officer to help with the Association's leadership transition.
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• UPDATE 1-Carlyle hires former Wyeth CEO as senior adviser
  Global private equity firm The Carlyle Group [CYL.UL] said it has hired Robert Essner, former chief executive of pharmaceutical company Wyeth, as a senior adviser to its Global Healthcare group.
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• Ranbaxy to hire 1,500 on expansion to push sales
  Ranbaxy Laboratories will hire nearly 1,500 marketing executives, expanding its sales team by at least 50%, to spur sales and regain its rank as India’s top drugmaker.
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• Sanofi lays off 400 more U.S. sales reps
  The shrunken U.S. sales force of Sanofi-Aventis is shrinking yet again. As BNet Pharma reports, the U.S. operation is laying off some 400 reps to account for generic competition and underperforming drugs.
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• Gerresheimer Strengthens Business in Russia
  Gerresheimer AG has set up a sales office in Moscow. The new representation centre will intensify the Group's business in pharmaceutical primary packaging and drug-delivery systems.
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• Royal DSM N.V. Supervisory Board announcement
  Royal DSM N.V., the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company headquartered in the Netherlands, today announces that Mrs. Louise Gunning-Schepers will step down as member of the DSM Supervisory Board with effect from 1 September 2010 in connection with her appointment as president of the Health Council of the Netherlands, which was announced earlier today.
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• French unions: Sanofi to cut up to 1,000 jobs
  Labor unions in France said that Sanofi-Aventis' manufacturing overhaul will result in as many as 1,000 lost jobs there, La Tribune reports.
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• Abbott's White makes list of world's top CEOs
  Only one Big Pharma chief made Barron's list of the world's 30 best chief executives: Abbott Laboratories' Miles White.
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• K-V Pharmaceutical cuts 289 jobs
  K-V Pharmaceutical Co. said Wednesday that 289 workers lost their jobs as it cuts its work force by 42 percent.
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• AstraZeneca CEO paid less than peers
  The economy may be moving upward, but AstraZeneca's executive pay will stay frozen. For the second year in a row, CEO David Brennan (photo) won't get a salary increase, and nor will his colleagues whose job descriptions haven't changed. That puts Brennan's 2010 salary at £972,900, or $1.45 million.
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• AstraZeneca invests to expand capacity
  AstraZeneca’s presence in India is relatively small, with APIL’s sales at Rs385 crore in 2009, up by 13.5% over the previous year.
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• Struggling Poniard lays off more workers as it ponders options
  Faced with the fallout from a disastrous Phase III failure for its cancer drug picoplatin last fall, a struggling Poniard Pharmaceuticals (PARD) announced another big restructuring effort this morning, laying off more workers, bringing in Leerink Swann to help evaluate its options and finally suspending its attempt to gain regulatory approval for the cancer program.
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• Lundbeck appoints Senior Vice President for Business Development
  Lundbeck has appointed Ole Vahlgren Senior Vice President for Business Development, where he plays a central role in corporate acquisitions.
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• Glaxo nabs L'Oreal exec to head consumer health
  GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L) has poached a top executive from French cosmetics group L'Oreal (OREP.PA) as president-designate of its consumer healthcare unit, underscoring the drugmaker's diversification drive.
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• Pfizer's Jeffrey Kindler Becomes PhRMA Board Chairman; Christopher Viehbacher, John Lechleiter Assume New Posts
  Jeffrey B. Kindler, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer, was elected board chairman of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) today at the trade association's annual meeting.
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• Lundbeck selects new female senior vice-president for legal
  Lundbeck has appointed long-term employee Mette Carlstedt to be its new senior vice-president for legal.
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• AstraZeneca says will be picky in emerging markets
  AstraZeneca (AZN.L) expects double-digit growth in emerging markets, the new battleground for Big Pharma as sales in Western markets stall, but said on Tuesday it would be much more selective than some of its rivals.
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• Bausch + Lomb Names Fred Hassan as Chairman, Brent Saunders as Chief Executive Officer
  Bausch + Lomb has named Fred Hassan as chairman of the Board of Directors and has named Brent Saunders as chief executive officer and appointed him to the Board of Directors, effective immediately.
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• MiddleBrook plots major job cuts as CEO exits
  MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals' downward slide continues.
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• Teva Announces the Appointment of Dr. Philip Frost as Chairman of Its Board of Directors
  Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that its Board of Directors received a letter from Mr. Eli Hurvitz indicating that he wishes to be released from his duties at Teva in order to focus on his full recovery.
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• Exelixis Announces Restructuring
  Exelixis, Inc. (Nasdaq:EXEL) today announced a restructuring as a consequence of its continued strategy to focus resources on the development of its key late-stage compounds.
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• DSM announces management changes
  Royal DSM N.V., the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company headquartered in the Netherlands, today announces the following management changes:
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• XenoPort Restructures to Focus on Key Programs; Includes An Overall Reduction of 50% of XenoPort's Workforce
  XenoPort, Inc. (Nasdaq:XNPT) announced today a restructuring that includes an overall reduction in its workforce of approximately 50%.
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• Abbott Executives To Chair Medical Device Lobby
  The medical device industry’s chief advocacy group, AdvaMed, said Thursday an Abbott Laboratories executive will serve as its chairman.
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• Agilent Technologies' Executive Vice President and CFO Adrian Dillon to Leave Company
  Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) today announced that Adrian T. Dillon will resign his position as executive vice president, finance and administration, and chief financial officer, effective April 1.
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• Helvoet Pharma to build production facility in India
  With this facility, Helvoet Pharma is further strengthening its market position in India and establishing its first operational platform in Asia to further capitalise on its worldwide leadership in pharmaceutical rubber formulations.
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• AstraZeneca outlines deep cuts in global R&D ops
  AstraZeneca has laid out deep cuts to its R&D operations, announcing plans to shutter its early-stage research work in Wilmington, Delaware, close entire facilities in the U.K. and Sweden and abandon its efforts for a long list of diseases.
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• Bristol-Myers Squibb Names Lamberto Andreotti CEO, Effective May 4; James Cornelius to Retire as CEO, Remain as Chairman
  Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY 24.72, +0.33, +1.35%) today announced that Lamberto Andreotti, 59, has been designated by the Board of Directors to serve as the company's chief executive officer, effective May 4, when James M. Cornelius, 66, current chairman and CEO will retire. At the request of the Board, Cornelius will remain as chairman.
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• Biovail set to hire reps for new U.S. force
  While many drugmakers are cutting back their sales forces and farming out marketing to contractors, Biovail is going in the opposite direction. Five years after disbanding its U.S. sales operation, CTV reports, the Canadian drugmaker is plotting a brand-new sales group.
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• Pfizer's Ringo to Retire from Senior VP Post
  Pfizer Inc. said Thursday that William Ringo will retire as a senior vice president at the drug maker.
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• Lilly chief vows to create lean, mean drug-making machine
  Even as Merck and Pfizer and other Big Pharma companies concentrate on big acquisitions and more external collaborations as a way of getting better at drug development, Eli Lilly CEO John Lechleiter has focused on pushing the company's R&D arm to work faster and smarter.
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• Genzyme insiders predict showdown between Termeer, Icahn
  When the Wall Street Journal noted Termeer's publicly obliging openness to Carl Icahn's notice yesterday that he was nominating four people to Genzyme's board, the business newspaper of record was careful to note that Termeer has often said he was the best person to helm the company. By John Carroll
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• Millipore Corporation Confirms It is Evaluating Strategic Alternatives
  Millipore Corporation (NYSE:MIL), a leading provider of technologies, tools and services for the global life science industry, today confirmed that its Board of Directors is evaluating strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value, including by pursuing a process with potential bidders to explore a possible merger or sale of the Company.
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• DSM N.V. (AL) - Proposed new member of Royal DSM N.V. Supervisory Board
  Royal DSM N.V., the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company headquartered in the Netherlands, today announces that the Supervisory Board proposes to appoint Mr. Rob Routs as a member.
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• Chairman Bill Young: Next Biogen Idec CEO May Be a Scientist
  The future leader of Biogen Idec might be as familiar with a petri dish as he or she is with a spreadsheet.
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• Sepracor Announces New Management Changes and Plans for Merger with Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma America
  Sepracor Inc. and Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. (DSP) today announce the resignation of Adrian Adams as President and Chief Executive Officer and Director of Sepracor and as Executive Officer of DSP, effective immediately, and the appointment of Saburo Hamanaka as Chairman of Sepracor and Executive Officer of DSP.
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• J&J freezes salaries, cuts bonus targets
  The compensation makeover has made its way to Johnson & Johnson. The company is freezing some employee salaries and lowering the maximum performance bonuses for 38 percent of its workforce, the Wall Street Journal reports.
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• Taro Announces Planned Discontinuation of Manufacturing Operations at Its Irish Facility
  Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (“Taro,” the “Company,” Pink Sheets: TAROF) today announced that it will discontinue manufacturing operations at the sterile manufacturing facility of its Irish subsidiary, Taro Pharmaceuticals Ireland Limited, in Roscrea, Ireland (“Taro Ireland”).
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• Daiichi Sankyo names new vice-president of medical affairs
  Daiichi Sankyo has selected former Wyeth Pharmaceuticals employee Dr Jay Feingold as its new vice-president of medical affairs.
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• GlaxoSmithKline President of North America Pharmaceuticals, Deirdre Connelly, Named 2010 Woman of the Year by the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association
  The Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA) today announced that its 2010 "Woman of the Year" is Deirdre P. Connelly, president of North America Pharmaceuticals for GlaxoSmithKline.
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• Merck Appoints Bridgette P. Heller As Executive Vice President and President, Consumer Health Care
  Merck & Co., Inc. today announced the appointment of Bridgette P. Heller as Executive Vice President and President, Consumer Health Care.
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• SLU hires laid-off Pfizerites for research center
  When Pfizer refocused its ops in November, it left about 600 of its 1,000 employees in the St. Louis area without a job. But St. Louis University doesn't want to see that talent go to waste.
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• Boston Scientific Cuts Staff as Costs Persists
  Medical device maker Boston Scientific on Wednesday posted a $1.1 billion loss in the fourth quarter after settling a patent dispute with Johnson & Johnson, and said it will cut as many as 1,300 jobs.
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• Christian Reinaudo to succeed Jo Cornu as CEO of Agfa-Gevaert
  During its meeting of February 9, 2010, the Board of Directors of Agfa-Gevaert has accepted Jo Cornu’s request to end his mandate as CEO of Agfa-Gevaert after the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of April 27, 2010.
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• Lundbeck announces appointment of new vice-president
  Lundbeck this week announced that it has appointed a new vice-president of investor relations (IR) and communications.
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• Genzyme alters the role of its lead independent director
  Genzyme has revealed alterations to the role of its lead independent director and has appointed new leadership for its board's audit committee.
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• GSK appoints Philippe Fauchet as president of GSK Japan
  GSK announces the appointment of Philippe Fauchet as president of GSK Japan. Philippe will report to Marc Dunoyer, who takes the new role as chairman of GSK Japan.
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• AstraZeneca Announces Jobs Cuts and R&D Restructuring
  AstraZeneca (London) announced this week that it plans to undertake further restructuring in its research and development (R&D) operations, resulting in the elimination of 3500 jobs.
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• Poniard Pharmaceuticals Announces Management Changes and Reduction in Force
  Poniard Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: PARD), a biopharmaceutical company focused on innovative oncology therapies, today announced that Ronald A. Martell has been appointed to the position of chief executive officer, succeeding Jerry McMahon, Ph.D., who will remain as non-executive chairman of the Board of Directors.
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• Pfizer to chop up to $3B from R&D budget
  Signaling that Pfizer's "monolithic" approach to drug R&D is over, CEO Jeffrey Kindler laid out plans to carve $3 billion out of the newly merged company's budget for R&D as the pharma giant shifts away from its traditional reliance on in-house projects and opens itself more to partnerships and collaboration.
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• Roche CEO offers his vision for new R&D era
  While trying his best to put a positive spin on some lackluster fourth-quarter numbers, Roche CEO Severin Schwan (photo) talked up the lessons learned from the big Genentech acquisition.
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• Scott Canute Joins Genzyme to Head Manufacturing and Corporate Operations
  Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ) announced today that Scott Canute, the former manufacturing head at Eli Lilly & Company and a respected leader in the field, joined the company as President of Global Manufacturing and Corporate Operations.
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• Report: Glaxo slashing R&D, thousands of jobs
  There's a tremendous amount of buzz this morning about the likelihood that GlaxoSmithKline will announce later in the week that it will cut thousands of more jobs--concentrating much of the blow on its R&D centers--as it shifts its market stance from Europe and the U.S. toward emerging markets.
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• Bristol CEO: Buying yes, selling no
  Bristol-Myers Squibb is a buyer, not a seller. That's what CEO Jim Cornelius pledged during yesterday's (Thursday's) earnings call.
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• GlaxoSmithKline may follow AstraZeneca in axing jobs: report
  GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the UK's biggest pharmaceutical company is likely to follow its fellow rival AstraZeneca in announcing thousands of jobs cuts along with its annual results this week.
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• Novartis chairman says wants to expand in Russia
  Swiss drugmaker Novartis (NOVN.VX) is eyeing Russia as the next big opportunity in emerging markets, after placing a major bet on China, its chairman said on Friday.
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• UPDATE 1-Genzyme changes compensation plan for top execs
  Biotechnology company Genzyme Corp (GENZ.O) said on Thursday it has adopted new compensation plans for senior executives aligning incentive payments more closely with company performance.
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• Per Wold-Olsen Joins Gilead Sciences’ Board of Directors
  Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) announced today that Per Wold-Olsen has been appointed to the company’s Board of Directors, bringing the number of directors to 13.
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• Lundbeck appoints Vice President of Group Finance
  Lundbeck has appointed Peter Vekslund as Vice President of Group Finance.
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• AstraZeneca adds 8,000 to job-cuts toll
  Want the bad news first? AstraZeneca is restructuring again, cutting more than 10,000 jobs around the world.
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• Vertex CEO Emmens rolls out his five-year plan
  Vertex's late-stage program for the hepatitis C drug telaprevir has absorbed a huge amount of revenue in recent years.
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• 2nd UPDATE: Novartis CEO Vasella To Be Replaced By Jimenez
  Novartis AG (NVS) Tuesday said Daniel Vasella will give up the post of chief executive officer to focus on his role as chairman, succumbing to pressure in Switzerland to separate responsibility for the day-to- day running of the business from boardroom oversight.
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• Quintiles Announces New Positioning, New Brand Identity
  Quintiles, the world's leading biopharmaceutical services company, has launched a new positioning and brand identity, driven by the company's growing ability to solve customers' emerging clinical and commercial challenges.
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• Genzyme chief promises 500 new Mass. jobs
  Genzyme has been something of a Bad News Bear recently, as manufacturing troubles continue to plague its Boston-area plant, and some key investors have been agitating for changes at the company--even calling for the resignation of CEO Henri Termeer.
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• Pfizer eyes bigger push into emerging markets
  The head of Pfizer Inc's (PFE.N) emerging markets unit said on Tuesday that the drugmaker's plans for a big push into high-growth underdeveloped countries is still very much a work in progress, but one that will eventually yield solid profits.
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• Eli Lilly's new, leaner sales strategy
  We all know that pharma reps have been bearing the brunt of industry cost cuts, as drugmakers revamp their sales strategies in ways that require fewer stiletto heels on the ground.
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• Peter T. Bigelow joins Patheon as President, North American Operations
  Patheon (TSX: PTI) a global provider of drug development and manufacturing services to the international pharmaceutical industry announced today Peter T. Bigelow has joined the company as its new President, North American Operations.
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• Proteon founders set out to build spin-out engine
  Dr. Nicholas Franano and William Whitaker, two founders of Proteon Therapeutics, have founded a new biotech company with an eye to spinning off new developers as they identify promising new drugs.
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• Pfizer cutting 680 Pennsylvania jobs
  News about post-merger layoffs continues to trickle out. The latest: Pfizer is cutting 680 jobs in Collegeville and Great Valley, Pennsylvania--from a total of 4,500 workers at those sites, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
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• Industry Veteran Ron Branning Joins Genzyme to Lead Global Product Quality
  Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ: GENZ) announced today (8 Jan) that Ron Branning, a 30-plus year bio/pharmaceutical veteran specializing in the development of world-class drug and device quality monitoring systems and regulatory compliance management practices, has joined the company as Senior Vice President of Global Product Quality.
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• Amid cuts, Genentech to start building
  While news has been flying about Pfizer and Merck's cost-cutting and real estate moves since their respective mergers with Wyeth and Schering-Plough, Roche quietly has been shifting jobs and operations, too.
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• New Year: People on the move
  James Mullen, president and CEO of Biogen Idec, is to retire from his position effective June 8, 2010. Mullen has been at Biogen for more than 20 years and oversaw the merger with Idec in 2003. Biogen Idec has begun searching for Mullen’s successor.
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