Hastings, McGirr to sit on Relypsa board

Welcome to this week's roundup of hirings and firings throughout the industry. Please send the good word (or the bad) from your shop to Alison Bryant (email | Twitter) and we will feature it here each Friday.

Hastings, McGirr to sit on Relypsa board

Relypsa kicked off 2013 with the announcement of two new members joining its Board of Directors. Paul J. Hastings, president and CEO of OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, and David W.J. McGirr, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Cubist Pharmaceuticals, will take a seat at the table. Hastings has served at OncoMed since 2006, Previously, he worked as president and CEO of QLT ($QLTI). And McGirr joined Cubist in 2002 after a stint as president and COO of hippo, an internet technology, venture-financed company. "Paul and David are widely respected business leaders with broad strategic, operational and deal-making expertise which will be invaluable as we build upon our late stage clinical program, gear up to be a commercial stage company and advance our corporate development strategy," Gerrit Klaerner, Relypsa president, said in a statement. Release


Paul J. Hastings--Relypsa
Hastings will serve on the Board of Directors.



Harlan F. Weisman--Coronado Biosciences
Weisman will serve as chairman and CEO.
 

Biotech

> Coronado Biosciences ($CNDO) tapped Harlan F. Weisman as the company's new chairman and CEO. Weisman has been a director for the company since August 2012, and most recently worked at Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ). Bobby W. Sandage, Jr., will continue in his role as president and a member of the Board of Directors. Release

> SciFluor Life Sciences welcomed Ben C. Askew as vice president, research. Askew joins the company from Third Rock Ventures, where he served as entrepreneur-in-residence. Release

> Alexza Pharmaceuticals ($ALXA) announced J. Kevin Buchi has been appointed to the company's Board of Directors. Buchi was corporate vice president, global branded products, at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries ($TEVA). Release

> NewLink Genetics ($NLNK) tapped Brian Wiley to serve as vice president of business development. Wiley has held management positions at Celgene ($CELG) and Gloucester Pharmaceuticals, among others. Release

> Trimel Pharmaceutical's Bruce D. Brydon stepped down as CEO. Tom Rossi, who joined Trimel in August 2011, will step into the position and remain as chairman of the Board of Directors. Release

> ImmunoCellular Therapeutics ($IMUC) announced Gary S. Titus joined the company's Board of Directors. Titus now works as senior vice president and CFO of SciClone Pharmaceuticals ($SCLN). He has more than 20 years of business experience in healthcare and biopharmaceutical industries. Release

> CorMedix promoted Randy Milby to CEO. Milby most recently served as the company's chief operating officer. Richard M. Cohen, who is now serving as interim CFO and CEO, will step in as CFO. Release

> Omicia appointed Mike Aicher as CEO and a member of the company's Board of Directors. Prior to joining the company, Aicher was CEO of National Genetics Institute, a company he co-founded in 1991. Release

> Zafgen announced the appointment of Patricia Allen as CFO. Allen succeeds Matthias Jaffe and offers 20 years of financial leadership experience in the biotech industry. Release

Pharma

> Valeant Pharmaceuticals ($VRX) named Laizer D. Kornwasser executive vice president, company group chairman where he will be responsible for the company's operations in Canada, U.S. neurology and various other U.S. functions. Kornwasser was a senior executive at Medco Health prior to its acquisition by Express Scripts ($ESRX). Release

Pharma Manufacturing

> AmerisourceBergen ($ABC) elected Douglas R. Conant, 61, to its Board of Directors. Conant is the former president and CEO of Campbell Soup, where he served from 2001 through 2011. Release

Drug Delivery

> ArmaGen Technologies named James Callaway as CEO and a member of the Board of Directors. Callaway most recently worked as president and CEO of Cebix and joins ArmaGen with nearly 30 years of experience in biotech research and development. Release