Dennis Gillings to step down as Quintiles chairman

Chutes and Ladders

Welcome to this week's Chutes and Ladders, our roundup of hirings and retirings throughout the industry. Please send the good word--or the bad--from your shop to Michael Gibney (email | Twitter) or Amirah Al Idrus (email | Twitter), and we will feature it here at the end of each week.

Dennis Gillings to step down as Quintiles chairman after 30-plus years

Quintiles
Dennis Gillings announced his resignation.

Dennis Gillings announced that he plans to step down as executive chairman of Quintiles ($Q) at the end of the year. Gillings founded the company in 1982 and served as CEO until 2012, building it into a $4-billion-a-year CRO. In his announcement, Gillings endorsed CEO Tom Pike, who took over in 2012, saying Pike "has provided outstanding leadership as CEO." Gillings will remain on the company's board of directors and Quintiles will search for a new chairman. "The company is ready on every level, with strong management, a robust growth strategy and effective governance, reflected in this thoughtful Board transition," Gillings said in a statement. "I look forward to my continuing Quintiles board duties and partnership with Tom." At Quintiles' 2013 IPO, Gillings and private equity backers grossed more than $400 million; the group later earned $1 billion in a follow-on offering. Story | Statement


Erik Nordkamp named Pfizer UK managing director

Pfizer UK
Erik Nordkamp was named managing director.

Pfizer ($PFE) announced on Monday that Erik Nordkamp has been named managing director and head of global innovative pharmaceutical business for Pfizer UK. Nordkamp will replace Jonathan Emms, who has been appointed Pfizer's global marketing lead for its established pharmaceutical business. Since joining Pfizer in 2010, Nordkamp has been working with Pfizer Greece, Cyprus and Malta. Before joining Pfizer, he was the president of trade association PhRMA Innovation. In the statement, Nordkamp said he will work with the National Health Service and NICE to "ensure the value of our industry is recognized, and health is seen as a longer term investment rather than a short-term cost." Release


Former Cubist exec Dr. Lorianne Masuoka named InVivo CMO

InVivo Therapeutics
Dr. Lorianne Masuoka was named CMO.

Dr. Lorianne Masuoka was named chief medical officer of InVivo Therapeutics, effective March 2, taking over from interim CMO Dr. Lou Vaickus. Prior to joining InVivo, Masuoka served as senior vice president and CMO of Cubist Pharmaceuticals ($CBST) from July 2013 to January 2015; Merck ($MRK) recently announced that it intends to acquire Cubist for $9.5 billion. In Masuoka's time at Cubist, she managed more than 150 employees in the areas of clinical research, drug safety, biostatistics, data management and clinical operations. Prior to Cubist, she served in various roles of increasing responsibility at Nektar Therapeutics. "I am very pleased to have Lorianne joining the InVivo team at such an exciting time in our company's history," company CEO Mark Perrin said in a statement. "She will be instrumental as we transition from executing on the expedited timeline for our pilot study to designing our pivotal study." Release


GlaxoSmithKline will lay off 27 vaccine researchers in Montana. Story
Sanofi will cut 100 oncology and global R&D jobs. Story
Siemens will eliminate 7,800 jobs, 3,300 of which will be in Germany. Story
Cambrex will add 32 jobs when it completes a $50 million expansion of its Iowa API plant. Story

Biotech

> Dance Biopharm appoints Dr. J. Tyler Martin to the newly created position of president and also to the board of directors. Release

> Sylvia Wheeler joins Aduro Biotech as senior vice president of corporate affairs and investor relations. Release

> Global Blood Therapeutics appoints Peter Radovich as vice president of program leadership and business strategy. Release

> Dr. Anthony Boral, formerly of Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, joins Blueprint Medicines as senior vice president of clinical development. Release

David Chiswell took over as CEO of Kymab in place of Christian Grøndahl. Release

> Macrocure hired Mark Page as its CFO. Release

> Catalent ($CTLT) appointed Thomas Castellano as its VP of finance and investor relations, as well as treasurer. Release

> Spinifex Pharmaceuticals brought on Peter Spargo as its senior vice president of chemistry, manufacturing and controls and Chris Richardson as its director of the same arm. Release

> George Lloyd, previously Royalty Pharma's executive vice president of investments, has been named general counsel. Release

> ZS Pharma ($ZSPH) adds Martin Babler, CEO of Principia Biopharma, to its board of directors. Release

> Zogenix ($ZGNX) appoints Renee Tannenbaum to its board of directors. Release

> DelMar Pharma adds Lynda Cranston to its board of directors. Release

> Albany Molecular Research ($AMRI) hired Jimmy Wang as its chief information officer. Release

Medical Devices

> Insulet ($PODD) appoints Dr. John Fallon as new lead director. Release

Diagnostics

> BioReference Labs ($BRLI) appoints Joseph Donahue to lead a new business group, the Commercial Collaborations and Innovations Group. Release

> Diatherix Labs names Ruth Brinkley to its board of directors. Release

> Exact Sciences ($EXAS) appoints Michael Wygza to its board of directors. Release

Healthcare

> Susan Suponcic joins the Navigant Life Sciences practice as managing director of the Global Market Access Center of Excellence. Release

> Joseph Ruh joined Carestream Health as general counsel and corporate secretary. Release