BUSINESS DRIVERS

Stephen J. McCormack, PhD, has been appointed CEO of IMI Intelligent Medical Implants AG (Zug, Switzerland). Previously chairman of the board of directors, McCormack will remain as a board member. With more than 20 years' experience in medical technologies, McCormack was previously a partner of Global Life Science Ventures, where he led the firm's investment in IMI. Prior to Global Life Science Ventures, he cofounded NeuroSystec Corp. (Valencia, CA), a company focused on the development of therapeutics to treat neurological diseases, and AlleCure, which was merged with two other biotechnology companies and taken public as MannKind Corp. (Valencia, CA).

EyeGate Pharma (Waltham, MA), a privately held company developing iontophoresis technology to noninvasively deliver therapeutics for ocular indications, has appointed Praveen Tyle, PhD, as a member of its board of directors. Tyle is currently chief scientific officer and corporate vice president for research and development at Bausch & Lomb Inc. (Rochester, NY). With more than 20 years of industry experience, Tyle also has extensive regulatory, business development, and product in-licensing and out-licensing experience. He holds academic appointments as an adjunct professor of ophthalmology at the University of Rochester Eye Institute, and an adjunct professor of pharmacy at the University of Rhode Island, Howard University (Washington DC), and at the University of Houston, TX.

Paradigm Spine LLC (New York City), a developer of nonfusion spinal implant solutions, announced that Christopher P. Hughes has joined the company as president of U.S. operations. Hughes joins Paradigm Spine from Medtronic Spine and Biologics, where he was group director of marketing. Prior to Medtronic, Hughes spent three years as a senior product manager at Smith & Nephew. Additional previous roles held by Hughes include product manager for Wright Medical Technology, regional sales manager for KLS Martin, and sales consultant for Day Surgical Products.

Histogenics Corp. (Waltham, MA), a cartilage regeneration company developing implants for knee joint repair, has named F. Ken Andrews as president and CEO. Andrews was most recently chief commercial officer and vice president of marketing and sales at Alkermes Inc. (Cambridge, MA). Previously, he was founding CEO at Medicalis Corp. (Kitchener, ON, Canada) and also served as vice president of marketing and sales of the tissue repair division of Genzyme Corp. (Cambridge, MA).

James C. Katzaroff, president of Advanced Medical Isotope Corp. (Kennewick, WA), has assumed the role of CEO, with former CEO William J. Stokes assuming the role of president. The company reports that the position swap reflects its plan for the growth of the company as it seeks to achieve upcoming milestones. Advanced Medical Isotope Corp. is a medical isotope production company engaged in the production and distribution of medical isotopes and medical isotope in vivo delivery systems for advanced diagnostic and nonsurgical therapeutic applications.

Donal Quinn has been appointed as the new head of the diagnostics division of Siemens Healthcare (Erlangen, Germany). In his new position, Quinn succeeds Jim Reid-Anderson, who on May 1 became the new CEO of the sector. Prior to his new position, Quinn had served as executive vice president and chief customer officer of the diagnostics division since November 2007. Quinn has held many roles during his long career in the healthcare industry. After serving as controller for Abbott Laboratories, Ireland, in the late 1970s, Quinn worked 16 years for Mallinckrodt Medical (Hennef, Germany), becoming the global president of its hospital business. In 1998, Quinn joined Dade Behring as group president for biology and subsequently held multiple executive titles of increasing responsibility. Dade Behring was acquired by Siemens in 2007.

CoreValve Corp. (Irvine, CA) has appointed Daniel T. Lemaitre as CEO. He succeeds Jacques Séguin, MD, PhD, cofounder of CoreValve, who will remain as chairman of the board. Lemaitre had led corporate strategic planning and corporate development functions at Medtronic (Minneapolis) since 2006 and also served as a senior member of Medtronic's policy, management, strategy, and investment committees. Previously, he spent 28 years in the investment community as an analyst focused on the healthcare industry. In addition, CoreValve has appointed Vito A. Canuso III as vice president of intellectual property. In this position, Canuso's immediate focus will include managing the company's worldwide patent litigation with Edwards Lifesciences (Irvine, CA). He will also assume responsibilities for expanding CoreValve's global patent portfolio and for developing IP strategies intended to enhance the company's position in the transcatheter heart valve therapy market. Canuso joins CoreValve from Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear LLP, where he had been a partner since 1995, as well as a senior member of the firm's IP litigation and patent prosecution departments.

Axela Inc. (Toronto), a provider of protein detection, characterization, and monitoring products, announced that Michael J. Treble has been elected chairman of the company's board of directors. A director and member of Axela's audit committee since 2004, Treble has extensive management and board experience in the diagnostic, pharmaceutical, and research arenas, and a successful track record of taking venture-funded companies from concept to commercialization. Currently president of Ibis BioSciences Inc. (Carlsbad, CA), a subsidiary of Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc., Treble recently completed an equity investment and purchase option with Abbott with an initial value of up to $230 million, plus a future sales-based earn-out.

Boston Scientific Corp. (Natick, MA) has appointed Timothy Pratt as its executive vice president, secretary, and general counsel. Pratt, who will also serve on the company's executive committee, comes to Boston Scientific after 31 years with the law firm of Shook, Hardy & Bacon (Kansas City, MO), where he was a partner and cochair of the firm's 100-attorney pharmaceutical and medical device litigation division. Pratt has focused his practice on cardiac devices, including pacemakers, defibrillators, and cardiac resynchronization therapy devices. He had served as lead outside counsel for Guidant's cardiac rhythm management business since the early 1990s. Boston Scientific acquired Guidant in 2006.