People, May, 2009

Mover of the month

Dr Allison Jeynes-Ellis, a research and development specialist in oncology, is the new medical and innovation director at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). She takes over from Dr Richard Tiner, who is retiring. Dr Jeynes-Ellis will drive the ABPI's innovation agenda, which covers R&D, manufacturing, regulation and medical affairs, representing the whole spectrum from first discovery through to approval of new medicines. A graduate of Sheffield University, Dr Jeynes-Ellis moved to the pharmaceutical industry from hospital medicine. She has been medical director for Wyeth UK and director of oncology at Bristol Myers Squibb. She takes up her post on July 1.

HealthEd welcomes Victoria Buyer as client services manager, Clare Mills as client services executive and Joanne Parker as medical writer. Victoria has over eight years' pharmaceutical and consumer expertise in the UK and Middle East. Clare joins from IS Pharmaceuticals, where she was brand manager for the critical care portfolio. Joanne has several years' experience in medical publishing and communications and recently worked on a cervical cancer clinical trial at St Mary's hospital, Manchester.

AstraZeneca has taken on Tina Batchelor as UK product manager for its blockbuster drug, Seroquel. She joins after less than a year at healthcare media relations company, Reynolds-Mackenzie and was previously at Virgo Health.


Pfizer has appointed Martine J George as vice president of Medical Affairs for its Oncology Business Unit. Dr George will be responsible for managing external relationships with cancer agencies, organisations and specialists around the world. Dr George has 20 years' experience in leading pharmaceutical organisations with expertise in medical affairs, clinical research and regulatory affairs. Most recently, she was senior vice president of drug development and chief medical officer at GPC Biotech.


HRA Pharma has made executive director of research and development, Erin Gainer, chief executive officer. HRA Pharma's previous CEO and founder, André Ulmann, becomes chairman of the company's supervisory board. Dr Gainer joined HRA Pharma in 2000 and has been on its board since 2007.


The Pharmaceutical Marketing Society has announced that Emma Statham is rejoining the committee. She has over 10 years' experience in the pharma industry and is currently the managing director at MSA Market Media.


PAN has promoted Jon Linscott from group account director to board director. Jon has a wealth of experience gained in his work on major UK and international brands, together with his previous agency experience working at Torre Lazur McCann and Leavold Pollard Bardsley. He also worked in product management at Medeva (now UCB). Claire Dobbs has been promoted to deputy managing director. She joined PAN in 2004 and was promoted to the board as account services director in 2006. Previously she held senior positions at both Grey Healthcare and IMS, and was marketing manager for SmithKline Beecham in the Middle East.


Ian Boulton has set up TropMed Pharma Consulting to help public and private organisations working in malaria and neglected tropical diseases become more successful. Previously he worked for GlaxoSmithKline on its diseases of the developing world initiative. He was also a board member of the global Roll Back Malaria Partnership. He has nearly 10 years' experience working on malaria, TB and other tropical diseases, as well as 34 years of working in most areas of pharma. He has also set up public-private partnerships for the development of novel anti-malarial drugs.


Chris Duncan has joined Pulsar Healthcare Communications as creative director. He brings a wealth of experience across healthcare and consumer brands, having been a creative director for over 20 years. He has won over 120 international and domestic awards, including HAAG Best of Show, Rx's and The Global Awards.


Claire Pillai has joined Athena as associate director. Formerly of Hunstworth Health, Claire has directed international and UK accounts for clients including Novartis, Roche, sanofi-aventis, BMS and Pfizer. Initially a research scientist before moving into healthcare communications, Claire will manage integrated PR and medical education initiatives and grow the international business.


The events and communications division of Grass Roots has appointed Mark Handforth as global healthcare development director. He joins from Roche, where he was head of global event management. In addition to leading the company's international expansion, Mark will ensure the agency remains up-to-date on compliance regulations, investigate partnerships with key industry associations and consider potential acquisition opportunities.


Sorcha O'Donnell has joined Synergy Vision as commercial strategy director. Scientifically and commercially qualified, Sorcha has over 10 years' experience at GlaxoSmithKline where she held senior marketing roles in global research and development in the UK and Ireland.


Kathy Hyett will lead new healthcare agency, TogoRun, as president. The agency will be a member of the Diversified Agency Services (DAS) network of Omnicom Group. Hyett previously headed CPR Worldwide and has more than 30 years' experience that includes award-winning agency work and leadership positions at Fleishman-Hillard, Burson-Marsteller and Mark Krueger & Associates. CPR senior vice president and senior partner, Lauren Letellier, becomes managing director, New York. Letellier has more than 20 years of public relations agency experience and, prior to joining CPR, was a senior member of Fleishman-Hillard's New York healthcare practice. Jennifer Wilson, formerly of Athena Medical Public Relations and Roche, is managing director, London.


The MSI Consultancy has appointed Bors Hulesch as a consultant. Originally from Hungary, Bors joins MSI from Leapfrog Research and Planning, where he was associate director leading the healthcare research team. Prior to this, Bors worked for TNS International Healthcare, starting his career at Ipsos Insight 12 years ago.


Graduate Sophie Smith, has joined ScopeMedical as project coordinator. Her BSc in Biological Sciences from Exeter University will prove useful as she embarks on a career in healthcare communications. Louise Todd has been promoted to account executive after six months with the company.


Brand Attention has appointed Sir Robin Miller as chairman. Robin is a former chief executive of EMAP (East Midlands Allied Press), where he rose from junior reporter to chairman of the board, growing the company from £10m to £2bn. BUPA, the NHS and Roche are some of the company's clients.

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