Biogen Idec (Cambridge, MA, USA) has named George Scangos (below, right) as its new CEO as well as a member of the board of directors, replacing the recently retired Jim Mullen. Scangos joins Biogen Idec from Exelixis, where he has served as president and CEO since 1996. Previously, he spent 10 years at Bayer, leaving as president of Bayer Biotechnology.

“George's appointment is the culmination of the board's comprehensive selection process to identify the best leader to take Biogen Idec to the next level,” says chairman William D. Young. “Science is at the heart of our business, and George has an exceptional scientific background, as well as significant operational expertise and a strong leadership track record.”

Nile Therapeutics (San Francisco) has appointed Richard B. Brewer as executive chairman. Brewer brings over 35 years of operational, financial and business development expertise to Nile. He currently serves as chairman of Arca Biopharma and was previously CEO and president of Scios, COO of Heartport and senior vice president of US marketing at Genentech.

BioVex (Woburn, MA, USA) has appointed Kapil Dhingra to its board of directors. Dhingra spent nearly ten years at Hoffmann-La Roche, culminating in his appointment as vice president and head of oncology clinical development.

Myriad Genetics (Salt Lake City, UT, USA) has announced the appointment of Gary A. King to the newly created position of executive vice president of international operations. King has over 25 years of life sciences experience, most recently as CEO of AverDx. Prior to AverDx, he was vice president, international operations at Biosite.

Dean Mitchell (right) has been named president and CEO of Lux Biosciences (Jersey City, NJ, USA). Mitchell was formerly president and CEO of Alpharma and Guilford Pharmaceuticals. He is also a nonexecutive board member of ISTA Pharmaceutics, Intrexon and Talecris Biotherapeutics.

Diagnostic kit developer Ingen Biosciences (Chilly-Mazarin, France) has appointed Karine Mignon-Godefroy as director of research and development. She joins Ingen from the blood virus division of Bio-Rad, where she was director of international projects. Before Bio-Rad, she held the post of R&D manager at BMD.

Frank Morich, CEO of NOXXON Pharma (Berlin) has announced his intention to leave the company effective August 15 to take up the position of executive vice president, international operations of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. Iain Buchanan, a director of NOXXON, will assume the role of interim CEO and will support the board during its search for a permanent replacement. Buchanan has over 30 years of experience in the pharma and biotech industry, most recently as CEO of Novexel.

Marine biotechnology company Aquapharm Biodiscovery (Oban, UK) has named Tim Morley as CSO. Morley has over 20 years experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including previous positions as research and strategic project director at Quotient Biodiagnostics, vice president preclinical sciences at Ardana Bioscience and senior director molecular and cellular pharmacology at Vernalis.

Exelixis (S. San Francisco, CA, USA) has announced the appointment of Michael Morrissey as president and CEO, succeeding George Scangos. Morrissey will also become a member of the board of directors. He joined Exelixis in 2000 and served as executive vice president, discovery before his appointment as president of research and development in January 2007.

Illumina (San Diego) has announced the appointment of Nicholas J. Naclerio to the position of senior vice president, corporate development. Naclerio formerly served as cofounder and executive chairman of Quanterix, raising $15 million in venture financing to launch the company. In addition, Illumina has named to its board of directors Gerald Möller, who currently serves as an advisor at HBM Bio Ventures, a Swiss investment firm. Previously, Möller spent 23 years at Boehringer Mannheim and Roche, where he held a number of leadership positions including CEO of the worldwide Boehringer Mannheim Group and head of global development and strategic marketing, pharmaceuticals for Roche.

BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics (New York and Petach Tikva, Israel) has named Liat Sossover as CFO. Sossover has served in senior financial positions at a number of publicly traded and private companies, most recently as vice president, finance at ForeScout Technologies.

James F. Young has been appointed to the board of directors of 3-V Biosciences (Menlo Park, CA, USA). He currently serves on the board of directors of Novavax. Previously, he served as head of MedImmune's R&D organization and was directly involved in the development of approximately 20 clinical programs.

Patrick J. Zenner has been elected to the board of directors of Par Pharmaceutical (Woodcliff Lake, NJ, USA). Zenner retired in January 2001 from Hoffmann-La Roche, where he served as president and CEO since 1993. He currently serves as chairman of the board of ArQule and Exact Sciences and as a director of West Pharmaceutical Services.