CRO Accelovance has appointed an oncologist with deep roots in drug development to help steer its efforts in cancer R&D, replacing the company's last big get in the field.
Mark Gelder is joining the company as vice president of medical affairs for oncology, leaving his post as head of clinical development at Inovio Pharmaceuticals ($INO). Before joining that company this year, Gelder held oncology leadership positions at Wyeth, Bayer, GE Healthcare ($GE) and Pfizer ($PFE), a tour that exposed him to every phase of the development process, from early research to regulatory approval, Accelovance said.
Gelder replaces Joseph Purvis, an oncology veteran with experience at Otsuka and Pfizer who joined Accelovance in October. Purvis decamped for Quintiles ($Q) earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Accelovance is in the midst of an expansion, planning to open a new research hub in Wales and add 70 jobs in the process. The move comes on the heels of Accelovance's February acquisition of the U.K.'s Altair Clinical, since renamed Accelovance Europe. That deal brought the CRO new outposts in England and Russia, plus staff throughout Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
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