Deborah Waterhouse
Deborah Waterhouse, currently Senior Vice President Primary Care, GSK US Pharmaceuticals, will take over as CEO of Viiv Healthcare. She succeeds Dominique Limet, who will step down from the post at the end of March 2017. 
20161222-bestof2017.jpg

Which European Biotechnology news stories topped the charts this year? The European Biotechnology team delved into archives and analysed the click statistics. And here they are: the most wanted news stories of 2016!

Mondher Majhoubi

Co-founder of immuno-oncology start-up Innate Pharma Hervé Brailly is making room on the chair of the executive board. His successor Mondher Majhoubi transfers from AstraZeneca, where he was Senior Vice President, Therapeutic Area Head-Oncology, Global Product and Portfolio Strategy.

The sonicator used for Protein Misfolding Cyclic Amplification (PMCA), the amplification technique used to detect abnormal prion proteins in patient blood. © Luis Concha-Marambio

Contaminated blood can transmit prion disease even if the donor does not yet show any symptoms. A new blood test could make the blood supply safer. Two reports show it can correctly diagnose Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease – with 100% certainty.

Electronic submission systems of the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) will open for biotech companies and research groups on 4 January 2017 to apply for collaborative projects with pharma partners under the IMI scheme.

Indigo Diabetes NV has been spun-off from University of Ghent and international research institute imec with a series A financing of €7m. The company’s needle-free glucose sensor addresses a €12bn market.
 

Matthew Kapusta
Gene therapy company uniQure NV has named Matthew Kapusta its new Chief Executive Officer. Kapusta has been interim CEO since September and also served as Chief Financial Officer for the last two years. 
Entrance hall of the EMA, © EMA

The Europan Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended four biologics, among them three biosimilars, one monoclonal antibody as well as two targeted therapies for EU market authorisation.

Neurology specialist Celgene has nailed down access to Evotec’s induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) platform for screening of compounds against neurodegenerative diseases.

Melanie Maas-Brunner, © BASF

Among other appointments, BASF has named Melanie Maas-Brunner as new President Nutrition and Health, effective April 1, 2017. Previously, Maas-Brunner held the position of Senior Vice President Performance Materials Europe.