Glenmark Pharmaceuticals limited, a leading organization in the area of drug discovery, has appointed Dr Penelope(Penny) Ward as president - clinical research & development and chief medical officer. Dr Ward will be based at Glenmark's clinical R&D centre in Oxford, United Kingdom. She will oversee the entire clinical development activity for both NCEs (New Chemical Entities) and NBEs (New Biological Entities).

According to a Glenmark press release, the company currently has eight programmes in clinical development of which six are NCEs and two are NBEs. In her role as chief medical officer, Dr Ward will also guide all medical activities across Glenmark's branded generic markets.

Commenting on her appointment, Glenn Saldanha, CEO & MD, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals mentioned "We are delighted to have Penny join us at Glenmark. Over the past few years, we have made significant progress in drug discovery and now manage eight programs in clinical development. We have important clinical objectives to meet over the next couple of years and Penny's wealth of experience in this area will be important for building successful clinical programs and partnerships. She comes to us with outstanding credentials and we look forward to her playing a key role in our management team.

Dr Ward qualified in medicine from the University College Hospital, London. After a career in academic medicine and specialization in OBGYN, Penny entered the pharmaceutical industry in 1991. During her extensive industry career, she has held positions of increasing seniority in several companies including Pharmacia & Upjohn, GlaxoSmithKline and F Hoffman- La Roche. Most recently, Penny was chief medical officer at Novimmune, a Swiss biotechnology company specializing in the development of monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of autoimmune disease.