Addex Pharmaceuticals Ltd has appointed Bharatt Chowrira as its new chief executive officer following the resignation on 3 June 2011 of its co-founder and previous CEO, Vincent Mutel.
Dr Chowrira was previously senior vice president and chief operating officer of Nektar Therapeutics Inc in the US and before that, executive director for worldwide licensing and external research at Merck & Co. Dr Chowrira also served as vice president of Sirna Therapeutics, a Merck subsidiary.
He earned his PhD in microbiology and molecular genetics from the University of Vermont and his JD degree from the College of Law at the University of Denver. He is a registered US patent attorney and a licensed member of the Colorado Bar Association.
Separately, Addex announced the appointment of Vincent Lawton, an existing director at the company, as vice chairman of the board of directors. Mr Lawton, who was previously managing director of Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) UK and vice president of MSD Europe, has served on the Addex board since April 2009.
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