Former US Food and Drug Administration official John M. Taylor III has joined the Biotechnology Industry Organization (Washington, DC, USA) as executive vice president of health. Taylor formerly served as associate commissioner for regulatory affairs with the FDA. Most recently, he served as divisional vice president for federal government affairs at Abbott Laboratories.

“I am extremely excited to join BIO and help the organization pursue the myriad of complex policy opportunities and challenges facing the biotechnology industry,” says Taylor. “Biotechnology provides hope to millions of people around the world living with debilitating and rare diseases. I look forward to working with our members to persist in our pursuit of an agenda that creates the proper policy and regulatory environment to allow biotech researchers to continue to provide this hope and fulfill the promise of biotechnology.”

Ventaira Pharma-ceuticals (Columbus, OH, USA) has appointed Lex Adjei (right) vice president, research and development. He joins the company with more than 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical R&D. Most recently, he served as vice president of R&D with KOS Pharmaceuticals.

Leslie Alexandre has joined the board of directors at vaccine startup Arbovax (Raleigh, NC, USA). Alexandre is a former CEO of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and was recently named director of corporate relations for health care and life sciences at the North Carolina State University College of Management.

Privately held EyeGate Pharma (Waltham, MA, USA) has appointed Paul G. Chaney as a member of the board of directors. He is currently executive vice president of OSI Pharmaceuticals and president of (OSI) Eyetech, OSI's eye-care subsidiary.

Modern Biosciences (London) has announced that Clive Dix has joined the company as nonexecutive chairman, replacing Alan Aubrey, CEO of IP Group, who has been acting as nonexecutive chairman. Dix was most recently CEO of PowderMed and was previously senior vice president, R&D and a board member of PowderJect Pharmaceuticals. Aubrey will remain on the board as a nonexecutive director.

Egalet (Copenhagen) has announced the appointment of Michael Fiorini as the company's new chairman, replacing Seppo Mäkinen of Bio Fund Management, who has chaired the board since 2005. Fiorini is the former CEO of The East Asiatic Company and a senior executive with AP Møller Mærsk. Egalet has also appointed Peter Nordkild, formerly chief commercial officer of Pharmexa, as CEO, succeeding Jan Quistgaard, cofounder and co-owner of Egalet. Quistgaard will continue as external advisor to the company.

Immtech Pharmaceuticals (New York) has announced that David Fleet has joined the company's board of directors. With over 35 years of experience in the international pharmaceutical industry, Fleet has consulted for King Pharmaceuticals, Aspen Pharmacare, Living Cell Technologies and Trigen, as well as Vestar Capital Partners, MPM Capital, Bear Stearns and Warburg Pincus. From 1997 to 2002, he served as senior vice president of global business development for Innovex–Quintiles Transnational. Immtech has also announced that General Wesley Clark (ret.) has joined Immtech as a strategic advisor. Clark was a distinguished US military officer and a respected international voice in public affairs and diplomacy. He served as NATO Supreme Allied Commander from 1997 to 2000 and commanded troops in the campaign to end the Kosovo War.

ResMed (San Diego) has announced that effective January 1, 2008, Kieran T. Gallahue (right) will be promoted to the position of CEO and will join the board of directors, succeeding Peter C. Farrell (below, right). Farrell will relinquish his position as CEO but will continue serving as executive chairman of the board until June 30, 2008, when he will become nonexecutive chairman. Gallahue joined ResMed in January 2003 as president and COO for the Americas. He was named president and COO, ResMed global, in September 2004.

Anders Härfstrand has been named CEO and Andrea Buscaglia has been named CFO of Nitec Pharma (Reinach, Switzerland). Härfstrand brings almost 20 years of senior level pharmaceutical experience, most recently as senior executive vice president at Serono. Buscaglia joins Nitec from Merck Serono, where he was vice president, corporate finance and business development.

Bone Medical Limited (Bentley, Western Australia) has appointed Leif Helth Jensen as nonexecutive director, replacing Gabriel Chiappini. Helth Jensen has cofounded four life science companies including Denmark's first biotech company, Neurosearch. He currently serves on five boards and is chairman on four of these. Chiappini will continue as company secretary, after serving as an interim board member for six months.

Hana Biosciences (S. San Francisco, CA, USA) has announced that S. Michael Imperiale, Jr. has been appointed vice president, clinical research operations. Before joining Hana, he held the position of senior director of medical sciences at Nuvelo.

John L. Knopf has been named CEO and a member of the board of directors of Acceleron Pharma (Cambridge, MA, USA). Knopf is a founder of the company and has served as executive vice president of corporate development and most recently as president.

Privately held Elusys Therapeutics (Pine Brook, NJ, USA) has named Robert D. Love as CFO. He was most recently executive vice president and CFO of Alfacell.