Timothy J. Rink has joined the board of directors of Adnexus Therapeutics (Waltham, MA, USA). He was previously chairman and CEO of Aurora Biosciences, and president and chief technical officer of Amylin Pharmaceuticals. Earlier, he was vice president, research at SmithKline Beecham. He currently serves as chairman of the strategy panel of the technology transfer division of the Wellcome Trust that funds biomedical research, and serves on the boards of Santhera Pharmaceuticals and Sepracor.

“[Rink's] company-building experience will be invaluable as we advance the Adnexus organization,” says CEO John Mendlein. “In addition, his scientific accomplishments, both at the University of Cambridge and in industry, bring a depth of technical acumen that will be a great asset to us.”

Æterna Zentaris (Quebec City, QC, Canada) has appointed Paul Blake as senior vice president and chief medical officer. He has over 25 years of experience in clinical development and pharmaceutical product launching, most recently as chief medical officer of Avigenics. In 2005, he was senior vice president, clinical research and regulatory affairs at Cephalon before being promoted to executive vice president, worldwide medical & regulatory operations.

Andrew R. de Guttadauro has been named vice president, corporate development of Vical (San Diego). Since February 2007 he has served as senior director of strategy at Biogen Idec, following a two-year assignment overseeing the commercial development of that company's Zevalin. Previously, he directed marketing efforts for MedImmune's FluMist inhaled influenza vaccine.

Elusys Therapeutics (Pine Brook, NJ, USA) has named Ron Eastman chairman of the board of directors, succeeding William R. Miller. Eastman is a partner at Essex Woodlands Health Ventures, Elusys' largest investor. Miller, a former vice chairman of Bristol-Myers Squibb, will remain on the board as a director. Elusys also announced that James P. Porter has been promoted vice president of development and manufacturing. He joined the company in 1999 as director of product development.

Phenomix (San Diego) has named James Harper and William Harris to the company's board of directors. Harper retired in 2004 after a 30-year career with Eli Lilly and Company, leaving as group vice president and chief marketing officer. Harris brings over 20 years of experience in finance. Currently, he serves as senior vice president of finance and CFO at Xenoport.

Critical Therapeutics (Lexington, MA, USA) has announced that Tucker Kelly has been appointed to the position of CFO and senior vice president of finance and corporate development. Kelly has worked as a life sciences investment banker since 1998, most recently as a principal with Canaccord Adams.

Cardium Therapeutics (San Diego) has elected Andrew M. Leitch as a member of its board of directors. He was also appointed to serve on the board's audit committee. Leitch has served 28 years in public accounting, including 20 years as a partner at Deloitte & Touche.

Paul Lubetkin has been appointed to the position of Emisphere Technologies' (Tarrytown, NY, USA) vice president and general counsel. Previously, he was vice president and general counsel of Aptuit, a private global contract research organization.

Novelos Therapeutics (Newton, MA, USA) has named James S. Manuso to its board of directors. Manuso is chairman, president and CEO of SuperGen, and has over 30 years of expertise in the life science industry.

Michael A. Patane has been appointed vice president of R&D and Michael P. Manzo has been promoted to vice president of engineering at privately held EyeGate Pharma (Waltham, MA, USA). Patane was most recently executive director, global discovery chemistry at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, where he was responsible for infectious diseases and ophthalmology drug discovery programs. Previously, he served as director, medicinal chemistry at Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Manzo joined EyeGate in the fall of 2006 as senior director of engineering. Previously, he was president and COO of Jenline Industries.

Steven J. Semmelmayer has been appointed to the board of directors of Novalar Pharmaceuticals (San Diego). He brings over 27 years of management experience to the board of Novalar, and currently serves as president, chairman and CEO of LED Medical Diagnostics and its subsidiary, LED Dental.

Development-stage company Champions Biotechnology (Arlington, VA, USA) has appointed David Sidransky, currently serving as director of the head and neck cancer research division at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to serve on the company's board of directors. Sidransky has served as vice chairman of the board of directors, and presently is a director of ImClone. He is a vice chairman of Alfacell and serves on the board of Xenomics, as well as serving on the scientific advisory boards of other companies. He is also the largest shareholder of Champions Biotechnology.

OXiGENE (Waltham, MA, USA) has named Patricia Walicke as chief medical officer and vice president, succeeding Peter Harris. Most recently, Walicke served as vice president, clinical and regulatory affairs at Avidia. Harris will continue to actively serve as a consultant to the company.

Surface Logix (Boston) has announced the appointment of Leland Webster as vice president, corporate development. Webster most recently served as an executive director for business development at ImmunoGen.

Jeff Williams has joined Platypus Technologies (Madison, WI, USA) as CEO. Williams most recently served as senior vice president and was responsible for product development at Asuragen. Previously, he was vice president and general manager of Ambion Diagnostics, where he was responsible for the successful commercialization of several FDA-regulated diagnostic products.