Savient Pharmaceuticals appoints David Veitch to lead European operations

US specialty biopharmaceutical company Savient has appointed former-Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) executive David Veitch to president of its European operations.

Heading up Savient Europe, Veitch will be responsible for setting up and leading Savient's European regional organisation to launch the company's chronic gout treatment.

Savient said it expects Krystexxa (pegloticase) to be available in the European Union (EU) on a named patient basis by the end of the first quarter of 2012.

Veitch has over 24 years of pharmaceutical industry experience and in his new role at will report directly to Savient CEO and president John Johnson.

"I am pleased to welcome David to the Savient team as head of our European operations," Johnson said.

"David has spent more than twenty years in critical pharmaceutical leadership positions within the European markets and has a track record of successfully launching specialty products in Europe.”

Veitch spent 10 years at BMS, most recently as senior vice president of European marketing and brand commercialisation.

Prior to BMS he spent ten years in a variety of managerial roles at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals, now part of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).