Mary L. Anderson has been appointed vice president of business development, Xoma Ltd. Ms. Anderson will oversee Xoma’s licensing activities related to the company’s therapeutic pipeline, support the antibody collaborations business and the licensing of the company’s antibody technologies, as well as the advancement of biodefense programs.
   
“For over a decade, Mary has successfully driven multiple product and licensing deals from initiation through negotiation and completion,” said Steven Engle, Xoma’s chairman and chief executive officer. “During her recent experience at a large pharmaceutical company, she gained in-depth knowledge of the opportunities and deal-making environment that drive today’s market. With her experience at a rapidly growing antibody discovery company, she is prepared to hit the ground running at Xoma as we work to expand our business development activities. We look forward to her contributions.”
   
Ms. Anderson has 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Most recently, she served as the executive director, global licensing and business development for oncology at Merck-Serono. While at Merck-Serono, she led the in-licensing of multiple clinical stage oncology products and was a key member of the team responsible for the approximately $15 billion acquisition of Serono SA. Prior to joining Merck-Serono, she was senior director, corporate development at MorphoSys, where she was credited with growing the antibody discovery business. She also held business development positions at Agensys and Bayer.