Hemant Koshia takes charge as new commissioner of Gujarat FDCA
Hemant G Koshia, joint commissioner of Gujarat state Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA), has assumed charge as the new Commissioner of the state drug regulatory office. The state government had recently appointed Koshia as the commissioner.

Koshia has been working as the joint commissioner (drugs) with the administration from November 2001 to January 2009. He was also holding charge as licensing authority and controlling authority for the state FDCA from November 2007.

Lilly adds Ralph Alvarez to its board of directors
The Board of Directors of Eli Lilly and Company has elected Ralph Alvarez as a new member, effective April 1, 2009. Alvarez, 53, currently serves as president and chief operating officer of McDonald's Corporation and is also a member of McDonald's board of directors. As a member of Lilly's board, Alvarez will serve on both the board's finance committee and public policy and compliance committee. He will serve under interim election and will stand for election by Lilly shareholders at the company's annual meeting in 2010.

Dr Sarojinidevi appointed chief of SDLA in TN directorate of ISM
Dr P Sarojinidevi has taken charge of State Drug Licensing Authority (SDLA) in the Directorate of Indian System of Medicines, Tamil Nadu. The position was lying vacant for the last six months after Dr P Bhaskar Suresh, the state's first SDLA was removed from the post on corruption charges last year.
Welcoming Dr Sarojinidevi's appointment, Dr Vijay Mehta, president of ISM Manufacturers Association said the manufacturers are of the view that the new officer will take immediate steps to resolve the problems being faced by the industry.

Nandini Piramal joins as executive director of Piramal Healthcare
Piramal Healthcare has announced the appointment of Nandini Piramal on the Board of the company as the executive director (ED). Nandini Piramal has been associated with the business for last four years looking after the operations in Canada. Nandini Piramal is the daughter of the promoters Ajay Piramal and Dr Swati Piramal.

Dr M Vidyasagar elected as new ABLE president
Dr M Vidyasagar, executive vice president, Tata Consultancy Services, has been elected as the president of the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE).
In the executive council meeting held early this month, the association announced the election of its offices bearers for the next three years. This is the third executive council of ABLE since its inception in 2003.

Malvinder Singh steps down as chairman, CEO & MD of Ranbaxy
Malvinder Mohan Singh has stepped down from the positions of chairman, CEO and managing director of Ranbaxy with immediate effect. Atul Sobti, currently Ranbaxy's COO, has been appointed as CEO and managing director. Dr Tsutomu Une, non-executive director of Ranbaxy, has been elected as chairman of the board.

Neuland appoints Sucheth Davuluri as CEO
Neuland Laboratories has appointed Sucheth Rao Davuluri as the CEO of the company. An MBA from the University of Notre Dame, USA and a Mechanical Engineer by qualification, prior to joining Neuland, Davuluri worked for Cummins Inc. USA in operations and as an expert in Six Sigma for projects

Davuluri joined Neuland in the year 2002 and in his previous role at Neuland he was the VP - Operations and chief operating officer (COO).Over the seven years that Davuluri has been at Neuland, he has played a key role in strengthening the company's operations by expanding capacities as well as streamlining processes. Davuluri s efforts across the multiple functions- operations, research & development and marketing have helped in establishing Neuland's reputation for being extremely reliable. Neuland has also moved towards achieving a leadership position in all major APIs manufactured by the company in each of its markets and successfully executing opportunities in contract research.

Dr Sudarshan Ballal inducted into Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences senate
The Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka's Health University, has reconstituted its senate and syndicate. Among the appointments that have been effected is Dr H Sudarshan Ballal, director of Manipal Institute of Nephrology and Urology (MINU) and the chairman of the Medical Advisory Board of Manipal Hospitals (MHS). He has been appointed as a member of the reconstituted senate for a three-year tenure.

Dr Ballal is a Karnataka Rajyotsava award recipient. He recently became one of the few Indians to have been awarded an honorary FRCP without having worked or trained at any of the hospitals in UK. A graduate of the Kasturba Medical College, Dr Ballal set up MINU at Bangalore which conducted the first cadaver kidney transplant in the state.

Dr Mohan of Wyeth bags Emerging Leader Award of PEM, NY
Dr Mohan Bangalore, senior director and site head, Wyeth India has bagged the Pharmaceutical Executive Magazine (New York) Emerging Leader Award. He is the only Indian to receive the honour this year among 27 others in the field.

The award titled as the Emerging Leaders 2009 is given away to scientists engaged in innovative technologies.

Dr Mohan who received his Ph D in Molecular Biology from Iowa State University (ISU), USA did his post-doctoral training at University of Pennsylvania Medical School, Philadelphia and worked on the biology (latency and reactivation) of Herpes Simplex Virus. He has eight years of academic work experience and nine years of pharmaceutical industry experience in clinical trials, drug development, and clinical research. He worked at GlaxoSmithKline to set up oncology clinical trials in India and China for Tykerb (lapatinib), which is now on the market for treatment of breast cancer.

Actis Biologics appoints Dr Gopal Dasika as R&D head
Actis Biologics, a Mumbai-based biotech research and development company, specializing in areas like breast cancer and colon cancer, has appointed Dr Gopal Dasika as its new head of R&D. He has been designated as senior vice president, R&D of the company.

K Sujatha Rao appointed as new health secretary
Sujatha Rao will be the new secretary, department of health and family welfare, ministry of health and family welfare in place of Naresh Dayal who is retiring on 30th September, 2009.

Pankaj Patel of Zydus Cadila new IPA president
Pankaj R Patel, chairman and managing director of Zydus Cadila, has been selected the new president of Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA). He succeeds Sudhir Mehta, chairman, Torrent Group.

Patel, who was earlier vice-president of the organisation, has an experience spanning over 30 years in the Indian pharmaceutical industry. He combines both research and techno-commercial expertise, and has published over 50 research papers. He is also associated with various industry associations and is actively involved in various educational institutions.

R Basil, MD & CEO, Manipal Health Systems quits after 7-year stint
Manipal Health Systems managing director & CEO, R Basil has resigned after a seven-year stint with the Group. Prior to joining Manipal, Basil was vice president of Wipro GE Medical Systems.

During his tenure, he was instrumental in bringing numerous cultural changes in the way the group has reorganized and rendered their healthcare services. He joined Manipal Hospital, Bangalore as its chief executive officer in the year 2002. Inspired by the success of his leadership, the Group's Health Services business was corporatised in 2006 and he was promoted as managing director & CEO of the new company. Subsequently, Private Equity investors came in and this helped to multiply operations to various locations within and outside Karnataka.

NIPER director Dr Rama Rao resigns before expiry of extension
Amid allegations about his extension of services by the department of pharmaceuticals (DoP), the director of the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Mohali, Dr Rama Rao has resigned on November 16. Dr Rao was on extension till December 31 this year.

GVK Biosciences inducts Dr Cecil Pickett as scientific advisor
GVK Biosciences has appointed Dr Cecil B Pickett as scientific advisor to the Board of Directors.

Dr Cecil B Pickett has served as president of Research and Development, and member of the Biogen Idec Board of Directors for three years between March 2006 and October 2009. Prior to joining Biogen Idec, Dr Pickett held several senior R&D positions at Schering-Plough Corporation. As the senior vice president & president, Schering-Plough Research Institute, he helped bring several large and small molecule candidates into the Schering-Plough clinical development pipeline. Prior to joining Schering-Plough, he held several senior R&D positions at Merck & Company.