Former FDA commissioner joins J&J board

Chutes and Ladders

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

Former FDA commissioner joins J&J board

Dr. Mark McClellan, who served as FDA commissioner from 2002 to 2004 and administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from 2004 to 2006, has joined the board of Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ). McClellan is a senior fellow in economic studies and director of the Initiative on Value and Innovation in Health Care at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC. Release

Johnson & Johnson
Mark McClellan joins as board member.


Auspex Pharmaceuticals
Pratik Shah is now president and CEO.


Biotech

Auspex Pharmaceuticals has made several new appointments to its executive team. Executive Chairman Pratik Shah will take over as president and CEO. Bharatt Chowrira has been named chief operating officer. Dr. Samuel Saks, an Auspex board member, has joined the company as chief development officer, and John Schmid has joined the company as chief financial officer. Release

Mylan ($MYL) has appointed Jacek Glinka as president of Mylan's European business, effective Dec. 2. Prior to joining Mylan, Glinka served as chief executive officer for the Polpharma Group. Release

> Michael Wyzga has been appointed to OncoMed Pharmaceuticals' ($OMED) board of directors. Release

MediciNova ($MNOV) has appointed Geoffrey O'Brien as vice president. O'Brien has served as senior director of business development and strategic planning for MediciNova since 2012 and previously was director of business development for the company. Release

Dr. Warren Cooper has joined Nuron Biotech's board of directors and will also act as interim president and CEO. Warren was most recently the CEO of Prism Pharmaceuticals. Release

Greg Garland, president and CEO of Phillips 66, will join Amgen's ($AMGN) board of directors. Release

> Todd Creech has joined ZS Pharma as chief financial officer. Previously, Creech was CFO and vice president of business development at Sarcode Biosciences prior to its acquisition by Shire ($SHPG) in August. Release

The Cardiovascular Research Foundation has appointed Dr. John Lewin as president and CEO. Previously, Lewin served as CEO of the American College of Cardiology from 2006 through 2012. Release

Harvard Bioscience named Robert Gagnon as its chief financial officer. Gagnon comes from Clean Harbors ($CLH) and has held executive positions at Biogen Idec ($BIIB). Release

Gerald Kovacs joined ABL as scientific director, a position he has held at the Division of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Medical Countermeasures of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority at the Department of Health and Human Services. Release

Imperial Innovations Group brought on Nigel Pitchford and Tony Hickson as chief investment officer and technology transfer managing director, respectively. Release

Akebia Therapeutics appointed Jason Amello as the company's senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer. Release

Jyrki Mattila joined iCeutica as chief business officer. Previously, Mattila was executive vice president of business development at Auxilium Pharmaceuticals ($AUXL). Release

Cell Therapeutics ($CTIC) appointed three members to its scientific advisory board for blood cancer research: Moffitt Cancer Center CEO Alan List, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center physician Ross Levine and Knight Cancer Institute director Brian Druker. Release

The American College of Gastroenterology elected Dr. Harry Sarles to be its new president. Release

CRO 

INC Research has appointed Dr. Martin Sullivan as executive medical director of cardiovascular medicine. Sullivan previously worked as a research consultant specializing in noninvasive cardiology. Release

> Pharmatech Associates has added R. Jerald Beers to lead commercial and business development. Beers is a co-founder of Itero Biopharmaceuticals. Release

D. Thomas "Tom" Oakley has been appointed president and chief operating officer of MPI Research. Oakley has most recently served as president and CEO of ChanTest. Release

Albany Molecular Research (AMRI) appointed Michael Luther as its senior vice president of discovery. Release

Pharma

Simcere Pharmaceutical has appointed Dr. Zang Jingwu as chief scientific officer of the company. He previously held several positions at GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK). Release

> Terri Shoemaker has been appointed as president and CEO of Medac Pharma, a new subsidiary of medac GmbH. Shoemaker previously served as vice president of sales at InterMune ($ITMN). Release

Simon Bellamy joined SCM Pharma as the company's business development director. Prior to SCM, Bellamy held business development positions at Catalent and Piramal. Release