Changing Faces

Normally we dedicate this space to agency and consultancy hires, but since we didn’t have any agency hires submitted this month – and we did come across quite a lot of government news – we’re switching it up a bit.

Peter Marks departs FDA with fiery letter. As we reported at the time, Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), resigned from his post at the end of March, citing irreconcilable differences with HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr about vaccines. The move prompted an outcry from the pharma industry.

Top NHS doctor, CEO out. Across the pond, NHS England is also seeing big changes with Sir Stephen Powis announcing his plans to step down just days after Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard resigned. Powis will continue in his role until early July, after which he reportedly plans to retire. He has been the national medical director since 2018.

Two more UK government moves. Also this month, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced the appointment of Lawrence Tallon as its new CEO. Tallon, who has been serving as Deputy Chief Executive at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust since March 2020, will replace Dame June Raine, who has led the agency since 2019. In another significant move, the Drug Safety Research Unit – the UK’s leading pharmacovigilance and pharmacoepidemiology unit – has appointed Linda Härmark as its new director. Härmark, a pharmacist by training with over 20 years of experience in pharmacovigilance, succeeds Professor Saad Shakir, who steps down after 26 years.

Novo Holdings subsidiary names new leader. Ellab, a Danish subsidiary of Novo Holdings that supports the life science industry in meeting compliance standards by providing comprehensive validation, monitoring, and calibration products and services, has named Gergely Sved to the post of CEO. Sved previously served as Executive Vice President and Group President for the Healthcare and Life Sciences division at Ecolab Inc, a provider of water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services.

UK professional services organisation adds three EVPs. Coronado Research, a UK consultancy-led, professional services organisation supporting pharma and biotech in the areas of regulatory strategy, advanced analytics, market access and health economics, and technology, made a trio of hires this month:

Stephen Ralston has joined as EVP Market Access and HEOR. Ralston brings 25 years of experience in market access and health equity outcomes research, having worked at Genesis Research Group, Takeda, and Merck Serono.
Gary Lyons has been appointed EVP Medical Affairs. Lyons is a seasoned senior Medical Affairs leader with extensive strategic and operational implementation experience across the industry and product lifecycle.
Nick Littlebury has taken on the role of EVP Regulatory Affairs. Littlebury brings many years of regulatory affairs experience, mostly at Diamond Pharma Services and VP Regulatory Science.

Sciensus brings on Syneos vet. Kerry Utton has been appointed head of corporate development at Sciensus. Utton joins from Syneos Health, where she spent seven years, most recently as Senior VP and Head of Global Operations Management. Sciensus is a life sciences company that supports pharma in market access, real-world data collection, and patient engagement.

IPS turns the Page with new director hire. IPS-Integrated Project Services, which delivers integrated design, engineering, procurement, construction management, and validation (EPCMV) services for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, tapped Karl Page for the role of Senior Director, Ireland. Page has successfully led complex engineering, procurement, and construction management projects across EMEA in his 25-year career.

That’s it for our government and consultant hires, but stay tuned for our other hires roundups and remember, you can send your own hires to for inclusion in this column.