MedPharm Ltd, a contract service provider of topical and transdermal product design and formulation development services, has launched its Scientific Advisory Committee, headed by company founder and Board member, Professor Marc Brown. Marc has served as MedPharm’s chief scientific officer (CSO) for over 20 years and will be stepping down from this CSO role to chair the newly formed committee. Dr Jon Lenn (pictured) will take over the role of CSO, with responsibility for the company's global scientific operations. Jon is well established as an authority in the development and optimisation of topical products and has played a critical role in MedPharm's growth to date, the firm noted.

Raremark, the healthtech company specialising in rare disease, has named Caroline O’Connor as its new chief commercial officer. Previously holding the position of Raremark’s SVP of Business Development, Caroline will now take ownership of the company’s commercial focus and play a key role in growing its presence in the pharma industry. She brings a passion for patient-centric healthcare, along with a wealth of experience in commercial roles in life sciences technology and services into her new position. Prior to joining Raremark, her focus was on eClinical technology, combined with establishing value and driving revenue growth from real-world evidence (RWE) and digital patient support programmes in the post-approval setting.

Accord Healthcare has further strengthened its specialty business offer with the addition of Chrys Kokino as president, US Speciality. While retaining its position as a leading supplier of generic medicines, Accord has also been growing its speciality products business. Chrys has more than 30 years’ experience in leading multiple teams within specialty pharma organisations such as Bristol Myers Squibb and Amgen. Most recently, he was the global head of Biologics & Insulins – Commercial, as Mylan commercialised seven biosimilars in the world-wide markets.

Vedanta Biosciences has announced the appointment of Mark Mullikin as chief financial officer. He brings to the firm 25 years of experience raising and deploying capital for life sciences companies, and most recently held leadership roles in finance and investor relations at publicly traded Editas Medicine and Novartis. Mark joins Vedanta from Editas Medicine, where he served as VP, Finance and Investor Relations.

Specialist healthcare communications group OVID Health has appointed Tom Doughty as account director. Tom joins OVID from Healthcomms Consulting, where for the past three years he has managed several corporate pharmaceutical and med-tech client accounts, as well as successful coalitions with patient groups and industry partners on All Party Parliamentary Groups. Before working in healthcare communications, Tom held research executive positions at Kantar Health and the Centre for Policy Studies. “Tom’s experience and expertise in health policy and parliamentary engagement adds to our strong public affairs offer to OVID clients,” said Roudie Shafie, director, OVID Health.

Retinal therapeutics development company Oxular Limited has named Dr Jatinder Kapur as VP of Quality. Jatinder has been working with the company as a consultant and will now join on a full-time basis. He has more than 20 years’ experience in the quality assurance function, amassing extensive knowledge in the development of both pharmaceuticals and medical devices.

Clinical stage biotech Destiny Pharma has announced the appointment of Professor Mark Wilcox to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Mark is a consultant microbiologist and Head of R&D in Microbiology at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals and is lead on Clostridium difficile infection for Public Health England (PHE). He also has advisory roles to UK SAGE (COVID-19), NHS England’s Infection Prevention & Control national team and PHE’s Rapid Review Panel (reviewing the utility of infection prevention and control products for the NHS), and is a member of the UK NHS Antimicrobial Resistance Programme Board.

Tanya Bos has been appointed by Vertex Pharma as international vice president (VP) of New Product Planning. Tanya joins Vertex from Takeda, where she was VP, Product Strategy and Global Program Lead, Rare Immunology. According to the company, with over 20 years working in the pharmaceutical industry, Tanya brings with her a wealth of diverse sector experience. She has held various positions at Shire, AstraZeneca and Sandoz with roles spanning Global Strategic Marketing, Global Pricing and Market Access; Commercial Excellence and Sales in Europe and Canada. “It’s exciting to join Vertex at such a pivotal moment, as the company diversifies into different disease areas...I truly believe we can positively impact many more people’s lives in the future,” Tanya said, commenting on her appointment.

Osborne Clarke is expanding its corporate team with the arrival of two technology and life sciences focused venture capital partners – Rob Hayes and Justin Starling. Joining Rob and Justin will be their team from Penningtons Manches Cooper (PMC): associate director Elizabeth Yell, senior associate Chris Voelker, associate Magnus Williams and paralegal Fern Tawera. Rob and Justin are highly experienced dealmakers and advise on all aspects of corporate law with a particular focus on M&A and venture capital transactions.

Maxwellia, the UK’s only dedicated expert medicines switching company, has recruited Tim Holmes to the newly created role of head of Sales. Tim brings over 25 years of UK and global commercial experience gained working with high profile consumer brands such as Durex and Scholl, along with a wide range of OTC Medicines and Medical Devices. He joins Maxwellia from Crawford Healthcare where he was commercial director.