Jan/Feb 2021 • PharmaTimes Magazine • 42-43
// APPOINTMENTS //
Appointments
Mover of the Month
Nucleus Global has appointed Dan Bridges (pictured) as its new chief executive (CEO), succeeding the firm's founder and former CEO, Stephen Cameron, who has stepped into an executive chairman role. As CEO, Dan will lead one of the largest specialist medical communications networks in the world with over 800 medical communications experts across 14 office locations. Nucleus Global was acquired by the international healthcare and communications group Huntsworth in November 2020. Dan will be supported by two further personnel changes at group board level: Reena Mamman has been promoted to the role of chief operating officer from chief financial officer (CFO), and Vicky Malherbe succeeds Reena as the group CFO.
Clinigen Group, the global pharmaceutical and services company, has appointed Sam Herbert as chief operating officer. His appointment is effective immediately and he will be based in the UK.
Sam is an experienced international healthcare pharma executive with a background in driving growth and change in global supply and distribution businesses. He brings a track record of leading businesses through commercial and service expansion which will support Clinigen’s growth plans as it continues to realise its vision of becoming the global leader in access to medicines. Before joining Clinigen, he spent seven years at World Courier, a leading provider of specialty logistics and distribution services to the pharma, biotech and healthcare community.
Michele Richards has joined Oberoi Consulting as a service implementation manager, bringing 12 years’ experience as a GP surgery practice manager in Wales and previously a data control and IT manager. She will lead Oberoi’s NHS service engagement and development strategy with a particular focus on broadening the support network across the devolved nations. Kavita Oberoi, who set up the company in 2001, said: “Michele’s insight and experience in both IT and primary care will be invaluable in further developing our services for the NHS and particularly across the devolved nations where there are differences in service deployment and development”.
Purespring Therapeutics, a kidney-focused AAV gene therapy company, said it intends to appoint Richard Francis as chief executive following the completion of its Series A financing of £45 million, from February 1, 2021. Richard has over 25 years’ experience in building sustainable, world-class life sciences companies. He most recently held the role of chief executive of Sandoz, a division of Novartis. Richard joined Novartis from Biogen Idec, where he held global and country leadership positions during his 13-year career with the company.
James McCarthy has been appointed as chief financial officer (CFO) of Novacyt, whilst Anthony Dyer has taken on a new role as chief corporate development officer (CCDO). Both appointments are with immediate effect. James will become a board director of the firm, subject to shareholder approval, at the AGM. Anthony remains a board director until James is elected to the board.
Raremark, the global healthtech company specialising in rare disease, has appointed Nicki Grundy as chief financial officer to support the accelerated levels of growth the company is experiencing. As a key member of Raremark’s senior leadership team, she will take the lead on the company’s financial vision, strategic financial planning and compliance. Nicky qualified with PWC and has a proven track record of financial and operational success with over 20 years’ experience driving growth in businesses including CrownBio, Exco InTouch and most recently Peppermint Technology, a legal software company.
Medica Group, a provider of teleradiology services in the UK and Ireland, has announced that its new group medical director will be Dr Robert Lavis, the firm's current clinical director, who will take on the position following the retirement of Dr Stephen Davies on May 31. Robert joined Medica in 2013 and during his tenure has transformed the way the service is delivered from a clinical and governance perspective.
Page & Page and Partners has announced the addition of two new full-time staff: Kirstie Turner as writer and editor, and Georgie Epps as mid weight creative. With a degree in Graphic Communications and four years' experience, Georgie joins Page & Page with a background working in agency and in-house design. After graduating with a Creative Writing and Publishing degree, Kirstie went on to work for a medical publishing company where she spent two years in the editorial and marketing departments.
The RSA group has announced the appointment of Eleanor Davies as managing partner at the firm. In her new role, Eleanor will be based in London driving business growth in the UK and internationally. She brings over 13 years’ experience of healthcare and life sciences executive search expertise. Eleanor will also be a member of RSA’s executive leadership team, contributing to the future growth of the company after a highly successful 2020. Prior to joining RSA, Eleanor founded and led a successful healthcare practice at Blackwood Group, appointing board level executives, chairs and non-executive directors to listed, private and PE-backed businesses.
Kate Brunner QC has taken on the role of Chair of the PMCPA (Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority) Appeal Board. This follows the announcement that the current Chair, Mr William Harbage QC, would be stepping down from the role at the end of 2020, after 15 years in the role. According to ABPI president and chair of the ABPI Board, Haseeb Ahmad, Kate “brings a huge breadth of experience to the role, across a wide-ranging legal practice including criminal, regulatory and healthcare law.” Commenting on her new role, Kate said: “I am delighted to take on such an important role as the independent Chair of the PMCPA Appeal Board. The PMCPA plays a critical role in upholding the high standards under which the industry operates, and I’m committed to using my experience to champion successful self-regulation in the pharmaceutical industry.”
Clinical-stage biotherapeutics company PureTech has named George Farmer as chief financial officer. George will be responsible for all aspects of the company’s finances, including capital markets strategy and execution, strategic and financial planning and financial reporting. Hee joins PureTech from BMO Capital Markets, where he completed a 15-year career as a senior biotechnology equity analyst providing in-depth sector research for institutional investor clients. Prior to this role, George served as chief executive of Cortice Biosciences.
Axol Bioscience, a biotech specialising in the use of stem cell technology to manufacture disease relevant cell based assay systems to the drug discovery industry, has named Ross Wheatcroft as the global strategic accounts manager. Ross will directly support customers while leading a growing global team of technical account managers. He is an accomplished life sciences sales leader with 18 years' experience in strategic account management, business development and demonstrated excellence in leading cross-functional teams to develop commercial processes and best practices.
Global healthcare market research consultancy Research Partnership has recruited Hannah Osborn as a medtech director in its UK offices in London. Hannah is a seasoned market research professional with over 13 years’ experience in healthcare research and consulting, focusing on medical devices over the past seven years. Previously Hannah worked for Ipsos as director of its medtech APAC team, and for IQVIA as an engagement manager leading its medical devices APAC research team.
Chris Bath has been promoted to managing director at strategic communications consultancy, Aurora, to lead the team as it adapts to healthcare communications challenges. Commenting on the move, chief executive Claire Eldridge said Chris “is the ideal person to lead this charge, both from a cultural and capability perspective. He provides excellent counsel, champions evaluation, and lives our company values every day. In doing so, he enables our healthcare clients to communicate effectively and so achieve better patient outcomes – which is what Aurora is all about.” Chris joined Aurora in 2015 and achieved rapid promotion to the agency’s Management Team.
John McHutchison has joined the board of directors of Evox Therapeutics, an exosome therapeutics company. John will be joining the board as the representative for Oxford Sciences Innovation (OSI), one of the firm's major shareholders. He is a highly experienced life sciences executive, with expertise across multiple therapeutic areas, particularly infectious diseases and diseases of the liver and gastrointestinal tract. John is currently chief executive and president of Assembly Biosciences, and prior to this spent nine years at Gilead Sciences, where most recently he was chief scientific officer and head of R&D.
Jack Grimshaw has joined Maxwellia, the UK’s only dedicated expert medicines switching company, as finance director, with broader accountability for Supply Chain & Logistics, Procurement, IT, Legal & HR. He brings to the firm more than ten years of finance experience across a range of industries including retail, pharmaceuticals and financial services.