Vernalis Therapeutics appoints president and COO

UK-based Vernalis Therapeutics has appointed Sandford Sommer as its new president and chief operating officer.

Ian Garland, chief executive of Vernalis, said: “We are delighted to welcome Sandy to Vernalis at this exciting time as we build our US commercial operations.

“Sandy's depth of experience in sales and marketing, as well as in general management, make him ideally qualified to lead our US operations through this critical period of multiple product launches and rapid growth.”

Sommer joins the development stage pharmaceutical company from AstraZeneca, where he has spent the past 24 years in a series of increasingly senior roles.

Most recently, Sommer served as country president for AstraZeneca's operations in Colombia and prior to that was global vice president, CNS.

He has also served on the board of the UK Columbia Trade organisation since March 2014.

Sommer said: “I am excited to be joining Vernalis at such an important time.

“I am looking forward to the opportunity to contribute to the growth of the company's US business and to help rapidly advance the company's promising pipeline.”