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.
Third Rock Ventures adds biotech veterans to team
Third Rock Ventures has brought on Alnylam Pharmaceuticals ($ALNY) CEO John Maraganore in the advisory role of venture partner and former Genzyme and Sanofi ($SNY) executive James Geraghty as an entrepreneur-in-residence to support Third Rock's investments in rare genetic diseases. Also, Daniel Lynch, the former CEO of ImClone Systems, has changed roles from entrepreneur-in-residence to venture partner. Story
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Pharma
> AbbVie's ($ABBV) head of R&D, Chief Scientific Officer John Leonard, announced that he is leaving the company in coming months. Leonard, who joined Abbott ($ABT) in 1992, was also the senior vice president for AbbVie. Story
> Zosano Pharma has appointed Nandan Oza as the company's chief operations officer. Prior to joining Zosano Pharma, Oza served as vice president of chemistry, manufacturing and controls at Talon Therapeutics ($TLON). Release
> Ricardo Gonzalez Balboa has been hired as general manager of Eisai Laboratorios, the pharmaceutical subsidiary of Eisai. Gonzalez Balboa comes to Eisai from Bayer HealthCare, where he headed the Specialty Medicine and Institutional Business for the company's Mexican operations. Release
> Clavis Pharma has announced that Olav Hellebø will step down as CEO effective May 20. Release
> Dr. Laurence Paul has resigned from Valeant's ($VRX) Board of Directors. Release
Biotech
> Former U.S. Senator from New Hampshire John E. Sununu joined the board of directors at Rib-X Pharmaceuticals. He also serves on the boards at Time Warner Cable and Boston Scientific ($BSX). Release
> Immunotec CEO Robert M. Henry announced his departure from the position. Henry was also the chairman of the board of directors. Release
> Vivus ($VVUS) appointed J. Martin Carroll and Dr. Jorge Plutsky to the company's board of directors. Release
> Relypsa has appointed John Orwin as CEO. Orwin has held senior positions at leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ), Affymax ($AFFY), Rhone-Poulenc Rorer and Genentech. Release
> Medivation ($MDVN) has hired Dr. Stephen Kelsey to the newly created position of senior vice president of new projects. Kelsey joins Medivation from Geron, where he served as the executive vice president, research & development and chief medical officer. Release
> Verastem ($VSTM) has appointed John Green as CFO. Green was the former CFO of GTC Biotherapeutics. Release
> Alkermes ($ALKS) has elected former Vertex Pharmaceuticals ($VRTX) Chief Commercial Officer Nancy J. Wysenski to the company's board of directors. Release
> Optimer Pharmaceuticals ($OPTR) has appointed Eric Sirota as chief operating officer. Sirota has served as a consultant to Optimer since March and previously served as president of commercial services of inVentiv Health. Release
> David Beier joined Bay City Capital as the company's managing director. Beier has formerly served as a senior officer at both Amgen ($AMGN) and Genentech. Release
> Franklin M. Berger joined the board of directors at BioTime ($BTX). Release
> Chane Graziano left the top spot at Harvard Bioscience ($HBIO), to be replaced by interim CEO David Green. Release
> David Apelian joined Achillion Pharmaceuticals ($ACHN) as the company's new chief medical officer. Release
> Biologix Hair appointed Michael Stocker as its director and CEO, and the company also brought on J. Gregory Wilson as its CFO. Release
Medical Devices
> Noxilizer has appointed David Chaskin as CFO. Chaskin was most recently CFO for Aritas Group, a financial holding company, and the financial and operations principal for the U.S. broker dealer subsidiary Aritas Securities. Release
> Dr. Sumant Ramachandra has been reappointed to his role as senior vice president and chief scientific officer of Hospira ($HSP). Ramachandra returns to Hospira after a brief departure earlier this year and will serve as a member of the company's senior leadership team. Release
Research
> Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute at Lake Nona has recruited internationally renowned genomic scientist Dr. László Nagy to serve as professor and program director in its Diabetes and Obesity Research Center. Release