The 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Mario Capecchi, professor of biology and human genetics at the University of Utah's School of Medicine; Martin Evans, professor of mammalian genetics at Cardiff University; and Oliver Smithies, professor in the department of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for their discoveries of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells.

Their process, known as gene targeting, is a novel way to develop mouse models for human disorders such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers and diabetes. Knockout experiments allow scientists to produce modifications of DNA in the mouse genome, which helps to identify the role of individual genes in various diseases.

Privately held Xytis (Irvine, CA, USA) has appointed Gordon H. Busenbark as chief financial officer. Busenbark has more than 25 years of experience in the pharma, biotech and medical device industries at Baxter Healthcare. Most recently he was CFO at Encysive Pharmaceuticals.

Amgen (Thousand Oaks, CA, USA) has appointed Vance D. Coffman to the company's board of directors. Coffman is the former chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin. He currently serves on the boards of Deere & Company and 3M Company.

ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals (Melbourne, Australia and Menlo Park, CA, USA) has announced the appointment of Adam R. Craig as senior vice president and chief medical officer. He has more than 15 years of clinical, oncology and drug development experience, most recently as vice president and founding chief medical officer at Innovive Pharmaceuticals. Prior to joining Innovive, Craig held positions of increasing responsibility at ArQule, Ilex Oncology and Antisoma.

Phenomix (San Diego) has named John Crawford as CFO and Arlene M. Morris to the company's board of directors. Crawford has 25 years of experience serving as a corporate officer or director for several companies, guiding them through listings on NASDAQ as well as facilitating acquisitions. Morris serves as president and CEO of Affymax.

Caroline Dorsa has joined Gilead Sciences (Foster City, CA, USA) as senior vice president and chief financial officer, succeeding John F. Milligan, who retains his role as Gilead's COO. Dorsa joins the company after 20 years at Merck, most recently as vice president and treasurer, and one year at telecommunications company Avaya.

Metastatix (Atlanta, GA, USA) has announced the appointment of Carol G. Gallagher as president and CEO. She joins Metastatix from Anadys Pharmaceuticals, where she served as senior vice president, corporate development and commercial affairs.

Christopher Henney has been named chairman of the board of startup CG Therapeutics (Seattle). Henney previously cofounded three of Seattle's biggest biotech companies:Immunex, Icos and Dendreon.

Sepracor (Marlborough, MA, USA) has announced several senior appointments: Mark Iwicki as executive vice president and chief commercial officer, a newly created position; Jay Smith as senior vice president of sales; Dean Giovanniello as vice president of marketing and Thomas Hoover as vice president, new products planning.

John E. Lucas has been named president and CEO of TransGenex Nanobiotech (Tampa, FL, USA). He was most recently chairman and CEO of EpiCept, and was previously CEO of Oxford Laboratories.

Pfizer (New York) has promoted Martin Mackay, formerly deputy head of its research division, to chief of global R&D. The company has also announced the appointments of Briggs Morrison as chief of clinical development, the no. 2 spot in its research division, and Corey S. Goodman as head of a new Pfizer biotech center in S. San Francisco, California. Morrison was previously a senior vice president of research at Merck, and Goodman recently stepped down as CEO of Renovis.

David McElroy (right) has been appointed president of Targeted Growth (Seattle). He served most recently as senior director, business development, with Johnston, Iowa–based Pioneer Hi-Bred International, a subsidiary of DuPont. Earlier, McElroy was vice president of business development and operations with Verdia, a subsidiary of Maxygen. “David's extensive transgenic trait product development and business development experience will be invaluable as Targeted Growth seeks to capitalize on its yield enhancement technologies in agriculture,” says Targeted Growth's CEO Tom Todaro.

Nicholas C. Nicolaides has been appointed as nonexecutive chairman of board of TransMolecular (Cambridge, MA, USA). He currently serves as president and CEO of Morphotek, a subsidiary of Eisai Co.

Metabolon (Research Triangle Park, NC, USA) has announced the appointment of Don Rose as vice president of marketing. Rose has over 20 years in marketing and product development positions at Hewlett-Packard, Glaxo and Cartesian Technologies. Most recently, he served as CEO of Heleos Advisors.

Biofuels startup Mascoma has appointed George Schaefer as CFO. Schaefer's previous positions include CFO at ASAlliances Biofuels and vice president and treasurer of NRG Energy.

Avalon Pharmaceuticals (Germantown, MD, USA) has announced the retirement of Alan Walton from the company's board of directors. Walton is a cofounder of Avalon and has served as chairman from its inception in 1999 until July of this year, when Bradley G. Lorimier assumed the chairman's role.