John Climax will retire as board chairman of Dublin-based contract research organization (CRO) ICON, effective December 31. Climax founded the company 19 years ago. He will remain as a board member, while Bruce Given steps into the role of chairman. Given, a healthcare products consultant, has served on ICON’s board for five years. Prior to becoming a consultant, he was president and CEO of Encysive Pharmaceuticals.

Other personnel news from the industry:

Sponsors

PepScan, a Netherlands-based biotechnology company, appointed Wim E.M. Mol, Ph.D. as new CEO. Mol was previously at Schering Plough where he was vice president, responsible for the global scientific development and commercial strategy of a phase III project in an alliance with a subsidiary of Merck-Serono.

Piers Morgan has been appointed chief financial officer (CFO) at Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics. Prior to this appointment, Morgan was the finance director for Arrow Therapeutics; CFO of BioAlliance Pharma SA in Paris, France; and most recently CFO and CBO at Phytopharm in the UK.

California-based Microchip Biotechnologies appointed Howard Goldstein executive vice president, commercial affairs. Prior to joining Microchip, Goldstein first served as CEO and then chief commercial officer of Arcxis Biotechnologies, and was managing partner of Practical Marketing and Sales, a biotech business consultancy.

CROs

NormOxys, a Massachusetts-based biotechnology company, announced the appointment of David Clark, M.D., as its first chief medical officer. Prior to joining NormOxys, Clark led clinical teams at Pfizer for close to a decade. Before Pfizer, Clark was employed by SmithKline Beecham and GlaxoSmithKline in their Clinical Pharmacology and Translational Medicine groups.

PRA International promoted president and chief operating officer Colin Shannon to the position of CEO and director, beginning January 1. Shannon replaces retiring CEO Terry Bieker, who will stay on as a member of the company’s board of directors.

Prior to joining PRA, Shannon spent 12 years with PPD, mostly recently as executive vice president, global clinical operations.