Aeterna Zentaris, an oncology and endocrinology drug development company, has appointed David A. Dodd as president and CEO, succeeding Juergen Engel, PhD. Dodd has also been appointed director on the company's board of directors.

"With the appointment of David, we are taking an important first step in transforming Aeterna Zentaris from a company focused on R&D to a company focused on commercializing the promising compounds in our  pipeline," said Juergen Ernst, chairman of the board of directors.

"David's reputation in the industry as a 'transformation specialist' is well deserved, with a record of successful and dramatic transformations of multiple pharmaceutical and biotechnology enterprises."

Dodd's executive management experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries spans more than 35 years. From December 2007 to June 2009, he served as president, CEO and chairman of BioReliance, a provider of biological safety and related  testing services. From October 2006 to April 2009, he served as non-executive chairman of Stem Cell Sciences, where he oversaw the  development and implementation of a strategic growth plan,  implementation of an experienced executive team and the sale of the  company to Stem Cells in April 2009.

During Dodd's six-year tenure as president, CEO and director of Serologicals, the market value of that company increased  from $85 million in June 2000 to an all-cash sale to Millipore in July 2006 for $1.5 billion. That successful transformation followed his five-year term as president and CEO of  Solvay Pharmaceuticals, and as chairman of its subsidiary Unimed Pharmaceuticals.  Prior to that, he held various senior  management positions at Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, Abbott Laboratories and the Mead Johnson Laboratories division at Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Currently, Dodd serves as chair of the board of directors of GeoVax, a biotechnology company developing innovative, patented HIV/AIDS  vaccines; as a director on the board of Aruna Biomedical, a  privately-held life science development company focused on the  development and commercialization of stem cell research products and  services; and, as a director on the board of PNP Therapeutics, a  clinical stage company developing a novel nucleoside-booster treatment  for solid tumor mass cancers.

He also serves as CEO of RiversEdge BioVentures,  which he founded in 2009. RiversEdge is an investment and advisory firm focused on the life sciences and pharmaceutical industry.

Shareholders are advised that, in place of Engel, Dodd will be one of the management nominees for directors at the company's annual meeting of shareholders to be held on May 8, 2013.Enter Content Here