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 Michael Gibney (email | Twitter) or Emily Mullin (email | Twitter) and we will feature it here each Friday.
Harvard chemist takes CEO job at Warp Drive
Harvard professor Gregory Verdine took the helm at Warp Drive Bio as Third Rock Ventures partner Alexis Borisy stepped down from the CEO position. Warp Drive launched last year based on Verdine's science, garnering a $125 million financing deal to mine bacterial genomes for drug compounds. Verdine has been a chemistry professor at Harvard University for 25 years while continuing to cultivate biopharma interests, serving as leading consultant to Roche ($RHHBY) and founding Warp Drive and Eleven Biotherapeutics, as well as Aileron, Enanta, Gloucester, Ontorii and Tokai. To take the Warp Drive job, he has taken a leave of absence from Harvard. FierceBiotech story
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Biotech
> Life Technologies ($LIFE) CEO Jonathan Rothberg stepped down "to pursue new opportunities," according to the company. The company added: "As a founder of four genetics companies, his departure from Life Technologies to seek his next entrepreneurial challenge is a natural next step, and we appreciate the deep bench of talent that Jonathan has built over the past three years to guide the long-term success of Ion Torrent." Forbes story
> Robert A. DeLuca joined Orexo as the president of its U.S. division, Orexo US, Inc. Release
> Immunicum recruited Henrik Elofsson as its COO, making him responsible for project management regarding preclinical and clinical trials. Release
> Theodore M. Danoff and Wael A. Salameh joined Clarus Therapeutics as chief medical officer and chief scientific officer, respectively. Release
> AMRESCO named Michael J. Mascali as president from his previous VP position. Release
> Prosonix appointed Frank Condella as the company's nonexecutive director. Release
> Gavin Jelic-Masterton joined FINOX Biotech as the company's CEO. He comes from Ferring Pharmaceuticals, where he was in charge of marketing for fertility hormones. Release
> Jeffrey Church, senior vice president of Celsion Corporation ($CLSN), will resume the role of chief financial officer, a position he held prior to his promotion to senior vice president in July 2011. Release
Pharma
> Progenics Pharmaceuticals ($PGNX) appointed Hagop Youssoufian as its executive vice president of research and development. Release
Medical Devices
> Atossa Genetics ($ATOS) has appointed Dr. Michael H. Kalnoski as medical director, a newly created position. A board -certified pathologist, Kalnoski has been a medical director and medical consultant at a number of companies and institutions including the Puget Sound Institute of Pathology in Seattle, Auburn Regional Medical Center, Valley General Hospital in Monroe, Petersburg Medical Hospital in Petersburg, Alaska, and Forks Medical Center in Forks, Washington. Release
> Arch Therapeutics has added Dr. Avtar Dhillon as board chair, Dr. Arthur Rosenthal as director, and Dr. Terrence W. Norchi as president and CEO. Release
Pharma Manufacturing
> Marken has appointed Joan Yan as its new general manager for the company's Beijing office. Yan joins the company from CEVA Logistics. Release