Syrrx said last week that it had appointed David Weitz as general counsel and vice president of intellectual property. Weitz will develop, maintain, and defend the company’s IP as it moves toward preclinical drug development, the company said. Weitz was previously partner at the Palo Alto, Calif., law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati, where he co-led patent prosecution. He received his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley, a master’s of science degree in organic chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelor’s of science in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
GPC Biotech has revamped its R&D management and hired on four new executives to its clinical development team, the company said last week. Former senior vice president of research Sebastian Meier-Ewert has been appointed both chief scientific officer of the company at large and chief operating officer of the firm’s Waltham, Mass., site. The previous chief operating officer for that facility, Muz Mansuri, resigned to become involved in venture capital, but will remain affiliated with the company as a consultant.
GPC also said that it has hired four executives to its Princeton, NJ, clinical development group: Thomas McKearn, Edward McNiff, Michael Petrone, and John Slayback. Three of the four have been hired away from New Jersey neighbor Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Bruce MacMillan has been hired as Caliper Technologies’ vice president and general counsel, the company said. MacMillan will serve as secretary to the board of directors and oversee the company’s legal affairs, intellectual property, and collaborative contracts. MacMillan was previously vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary for Sugen, which was acquired by Pharmacia. Caliper last week also named William Kruka vice president of business development, reporting to Michael Knapp, vice president of corporate development. Kruka most recently served as senior manager of business development with Applied Biosystems, where he led the business development initiatives for proteomics, including related mass spectrometry, sample preparation, chromatography, and microfluidic technologies.