Next-generation antibody developer Xencor (Monrovia, CA, USA) has announced the appointment of Edgardo Baracchini (right) as chief business officer. Baracchini brings more than 15 years of experience to Xencor, most recently as senior vice president of business development at Metabasis Therapeutics until its merger with Ligand Pharmaceuticals in 2009. Previously, he was vice president of business development at Elitra Pharmaceuticals, director of business development at Agouron Pharmaceuticals and assistant director of business development at Isis Pharmaceuticals. “As evidenced by the company's string of partnerships last year, including Merck and Pfizer, Xencor's antibody engineering technology provides a unique offering to partners, particularly at a time when there's increasing competition in biologics,” says Baracchini. “I look forward to working with the Xencor team to further utilization of this broad-based technology.”

Felix J. Baker has been named to Ardea Biosciences' (San Diego) board of directors. He is a managing partner of Baker Bros. Advisors, the manager and advisor to the funds of Baker Brothers Investments, Ardea's largest shareholder.

Lisa Costantino (right) has been named CFO of EMD Serono's (Rockland, MA, USA) US organization, with responsibilities including the oversight and strategic direction-setting of finance and controlling, tax, accounting, procurement and information services. Costantino has more than 25 years of experience at EMD Serono, most recently serving as vice president of finance.

NextBio (Cupertino, CA, USA) has appointed Kevin G. Cronin vice president of sales. He was most recently senior vice president of sales at Symyx Technologies.

Prime Therapeutics (St. Paul, MN, USA) has announced the appointment of Stacey Fahrner as vice president, government affairs. Fahrner previously served as a senior policy manager at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association in Washington, DC. Before that, she was a senior policy manager at Abbott Laboratories.

TxCell (Valbonne, France) has named Miguel Forte to the newly created position of chief medical officer. In 2004, he joined Nabi Pharmaceuticals as vice president clinical, medical and regulatory affairs for Europe, and in 2006 he became vice president global medical affairs inflammation, worldwide at UCB.

Neuraltus Pharmaceuticals (Palo Alto, CA, USA) has announced that Andrew Gengos has been named president and CEO. Gengos joins Neuraltus after more than seven years at Amgen, where he served as vice president, strategy and corporate development. Before joining Amgen, he was vice president, CFO, and chief business officer of Dynavax Technologies.

Stem Cell Therapy International (Tampa, FL, USA) has named Hoon Han chairman of the company's board of directors effective immediately and has announced the resignation of Lixian (John) Jiang from all positions with the company. Han is president and CEO of HistoStem Co., which established the first cord blood bank, the first bone marrow bank and the first stem cell bank in Korea. Jiang will continue assisting the company in an advisory capacity when the company forms its medical advisory committee.

Lonza Group (Basel, Switzerland) has announced the hiring of Jonathan Knowles in a part-time role as scientific advisor, mainly to support the company's LIFT (Lonza Innovation for Future Technologies) initiative. Knowles was formerly a member of the Roche executive committee and head of group research.

Aton Pharma (Lawrenceville, NJ, USA) has named Wayne S. Mulcahy vice president, clinical operations. He has more than 30 years of experience, most recently serving as vice president of R&D at Alita Pharmaceuticals. Aton also announced that Michael H. Richardson has joined the company as vice president, commercial operations for the newly formed orphan drug business unit. Richardson was previously a group director of marketing and senior director of worldwide product planning for Cephalon.

Viroblock (Geneva) has announced the hiring of Jamie Paterson as CEO. Paterson has 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, most recently as chief commercial officer at Neurim Pharmaceuticals.

Robert Phelps has joined SuppreMol (Martinsried/Munich, Germany) as head of business development and licensing. Most recently, he was director, business development and licensing at PARI Pharma.

William H. Rastetter has been elected to the board of directors of Neurocrine Biosciences (San Diego), effective immediately. He currently serves as chairman and CEO of Receptos and chairman of Illumina and is a partner in the venture capital firm Venrock. Rastetter retired as executive chairman of Biogen Idec at the end of 2005.

Billy Tauzin, president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (Washington, DC), has announced his resignation after taking criticism for his support of President Obama's plan to overhaul health care. A former congressman from Louisiana, Tauzin will officially step down on June 30.

Jan van Heek has been named to the board of Amarin (Dublin and Mystic, CT, USA) as a non-executive director. As part of his board role, van Heek has been appointed chairman of the company's audit committee. He previously spent more than 18 years at Genzyme, most recently as senior advisor to the CEO and senior management team.

Karo Bio (Stockholm) has announced the resignation of its president and CEO Per Olo f Wallström to pursue other opportunities. Wallström, who has served in his position for the past five years, will stay with the company until his successor has been appointed.