Cell Genesys (S. San Francisco, CA, USA) has announced the appointment of Robert J. Dow to the newly created position of senior vice president, medical affairs. Dr. Dow was most recently CEO of UK-based Biolitec Pharma, and previously held senior positions at Quantanova and Scotia Holdings. His career in pharma includes 10 years in senior positions in drug development at Syntex, and as head of global drug development with Hoffmann-La Roche. Cell Genesys CEO Stephen Sherwin noted he particularly looked forward to Dow's leadership in defining the global product approval and reimbursement strategy for the company's GVAX prostate cancer vaccine, which entered phase 3 development last year.

Cell Genesys also announced that Matthew J. Pfeffer will resign as vice president and CFO, to spend more time with his wife and newborn twins. He will remain in his position until a successor is appointed.

KAI Pharmaceuticals (S. San Francisco, CA, USA) has named Kristine Ball as vice president of finance and CFO and Stephen Harrison as vice president of research. Ms. Ball most recently served as vice president of finance at Exelixis. Dr. Harrison previously led Chiron's kinase program, and was most recently vice president of research at Thios Pharmaceuticals.

Law firm Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe has added three intellectual property litigation shareholders to its San Diego, California, office. The new partners are John M. Benassi (formerly co-chair of Paul Hastings' worldwide IP group), Jessica M. Wolff and Kurt R. Kjelland. The three have worked together at three other firms—Lyon & Lyon, Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, and most recently, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker.

Josef Bossart has joined The Sage Group (Branchburg, NJ, USA), an international business strategy and transaction company, as executive director. Dr. Bossart most recently founded his own bioscience consulting firm, and his earlier experience includes positions as vice president of business development and president, SCA ventures, both with Enzon Pharmaceuticals, and chief business officer of GeneMedicine.

Sosei Co. Ltd. (Tokyo) has announced the appointment of David Chiswell as nonexecutive chairman. Mr. Chiswell was a founder and, from 1996 to 2002, the CEO of UK-based Cambridge Antibody Technology. He is currently chairman of the UK's BioIndustry Association as well as Arrow Therapeutics, and a nonexecutive director of Arakis. He also advises a number of private equity funds including Nomura Phase 4 Ventures.

John Lisle

Dean Falb has been named vice president of R&D at Stryker Biotech (Hopkinton, MA, USA), with overall responsibility for the company's ongoing development activities and new product development initiatives. A founding scientist with Millennium Pharmaceuticals, he joins Stryker from VisEn Medical, where he held the same position.

Leonard Firestone has been named CEO and director of Australian Cancer Technology (Sydney). Previously, Dr. Firestone was CEO, president, chief medical officer and director of Manhattan Pharmaceuticals.

GlycoFi (Lebanon, NH, USA) has named V. Bryan Lawlis to its board of directors. Dr. Lawlis, a 25-year biotech industry veteran, is currently president and CEO of Aradigm. He is also the founder and former president, CEO and chairman of Covance Biotechnology Services, a contract biopharmaceutical manufacturer.

Solexa (Saffron Walden, UK) has announced the appointment of Peter Lundberg as vice president and chief technical officer, with responsibility for all R&D activities at the company's California location. Mr. Lundberg was most recently vice president, DNA platforms R&D at the Applied Biosystems unit of Applera.

Gamida Cell (Jerusalem) has named Yael Margolin president and CEO. Dr. Margolin has served on the board of Gamida Cell since 2000. Before joining the company, she served as vice president of Denali Ventures and was responsible for new product initiatives and drug development programs at Teva Pharmaceuticals.

Walter H. Moos has joined SRI International (Menlo Park, CA, USA), a nonprofit R&D organization, as head of its biosciences division. Dr. Moos is the former chairman and CEO of MitoKor.

Chris Newton has been appointed CSO of BioFocus (Saffron Walden, UK). Most recently he was CSO and a founding scientific team member of Argenta Discovery, and he previously spent 21 years in the pharmaceutical industry with Aventis/Rhône-Poulenc.

Larry K. Powe has been appointed vice president of clinical development of AGY Therapeutics (S. San Francisco, CA, USA). Dr. Powe has served as director of clinical research at Amgen, and worked for several years for Sanofi-Aventis (then Rhône-Poulenc Rorer), in positions including director of global medical affairs for neurosciences and women's health, international medical director for CNS diseases, and group director for the neuroendocrine program.

Martin Simonetti has been elected to the board of directors of Icagen (Research Triangle Park, NC, USA). Mr. Simonetti is currently vice president, finance and CFO of Dendreon.

United Kingdom–based NextGen Sciences has announced the opening of a new US office in Orland Park, Illinois. Leading US operations will be Cliff Turner, newly appointed president of the company's US subsidiary. Mr. Turner was previously director of sales and market development at Nanosphere, and held roles of increasing responsibility in companies such as Affymetrix and Life Technologies.