National Human Genome Research Institute appoints director to new division

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.

National Human Genome Research Institute appoints director to new division

Lawrence Brody has been selected to be the first director of the newly established Division of Genomics and Society at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). He joined NHGRI in 1993 and has been the chief scientific officer at the trans-NIH Center for Inherited Disease Research since 2006. Established in 2012 as a part of an institute-wide reorganization, the Division of Genomics and Society is responsible for an expanded program related to societal issues relevant to genomics research and advances. Release

National Human Genome Research Institute
Lawrence Brody will head the Division of Genomics and Society.


NeuroSearch
René Schneider is stepping down as CEO.


Biotech

René Schneider resigned as CEO of NeuroSearch. The board of directors appointed the present chairman of the board, Allan Andersen, as the company's new CEO. Release

Dendreon ($DNDN) CFO Greg Schiffman has jumped ship to StemCells, where he will take over as CFO and executive vice president of finance. Release

John Kelley, Phyxius Pharma's co-founder and CEO, was named CEO of Oxygen Biotherapeutics. Kelley will also be appointed to Oxygen Biotherapeutics' board of directors. Release

> Catabasis Pharmaceuticals named Ian Sanderson the company's chief financial officer. Release

John H. Johnson was appointed to Histogenics' board of directors. Johnson is currently the chairman, president and chief executive officer of Dendreon ($DNDN). Release

> Dr. Penelope Ward joined Karus Pharmaceuticals as chief medical officer. Ward has held senior management roles at Pharmacia & Upjohn, UCB and Roche ($RHHBY) and was previously chief medical officer of NovImmune. Release

Braasch Biotech named David Probst of Peru State University and Layne Asay, formerly of Ceva Animal Health, to its board of directors. Release

Robert Thomas joined the board of directors at Australian Starpharma Holdings. Thomas will serve as a nonexecutive director. Release

Portage Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Portage Biotech, has formed a scientific advisory board including members Dr. Burt Adelman, Dr. Michael Caplan and Sankar Ghosh. Release

Jade Therapeutics appointed Dinesh Patel to its board of directors. Patel is currently partner emeritus at the venture capital firm vSpring Capital and previously served as president and CEO of TheraTech. Release

> Dr. David D'Alessio of the University of Cincinnati, Dr. Vivian Fonseca of Tulane University, Dr. Frank Greenway of Louisiana State University and Dr. David Robbins of the University of Kansas, researchers specializing in diabetes and metabolic disorders, joined MicroBiome Therapeutics' clinical advisory board. Release

AmpliPhi Biosciences appointed Baxter Phillips as its vice president of corporate strategy and business development. Release

Pharma

> Aprecia Pharmaceuticals brought on Don Wetherhold as its chief executive officer. Release

> Bristol-Myers Squibb's ($BMY) U.S. President Giovanni Caforio will take over as commercial chief, replacing Beatrice Cazala. Charles Bancroft, executive VP and CFO, will now take on business development and strategy, too. Murdo Gordon, senior VP of oncology in the U.S., will rise to the position of U.S. president. News

> Bruno Angelici has been elected to the Vectura Group's board as an independent nonexecutive director and nonexecutive chairman designate. Angelici is a nonexecutive director of Smiths Group and Novo Nordisk ($NVO). Release

> Imprimis Pharmaceuticals ($IMMY) has hired John Saharek to serve as vice president of commercialization for ophthalmology. Saharek most recently served as head of U.S. marketing and strategy for ThromboGenics. Release

Diagnostics

Stephen P. Hall has been appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer of BG Medicine. Mostly recently, he served as vice president of finance, treasurer, principal financial and chief accounting officer at Stemline Therapeutics. Release