Schering-Plough Corp. has made executive changes within Schering-Plough Research Institute (SPRI), the R&D arm of Schering-Plough.

Thomas P. Koestler, Ph.D., has been named executive vice president and president of SPRI and a member of the company’s Executive Management Team (EMT). Dr. Koestler was previously executive vice president, global development, SPRI, and an advisor to EMT. He succeeds Cecil B. Pickett, Ph.D., who is retiring from the company to join Biogen Idec. Also, Catherine D. Strader, Ph.D., executive vice president, discovery research, SPRI, has been promoted to executive vice president, SPRI, and chief scientific officer of the company.

Dr. Koestler will be responsible for all aspects of SPRI, including heading up the Pharmaceutical Leadership Board (PLB). The PLB guides the strategic direction of product development programs and oversees the movement of projects through the development, registration and launch phases.

He joined the company in August 2003 as executive vice president, global regulatory affairs and project management, SPRI. Later, Dr. Koestler was responsible for setting the strategic direction and implementation plans for the pharmaceutical development organization, including worldwide clinical development, pharmaceutical sciences, global regulatory affairs and global project management.

Prior to joining SP, he was senior vice president and head of global regulatory affairs for Pharmacia. Before that, he was senior vice president and global head, drug regulatory affairs, compliance assurance, clinical safety and epidemiology for Novartis. He also served as senior director, drug regulatory affairs, at Ortho McNeil and as director of regulatory affairs at Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Dr. Strader is responsible for the drug discovery operations of SP, including biology, genomics, medicinal and structural chemistry research, through both internal programs and external collaborations. The discovery group is focused on finding novel therapeutic agents in the areas of respiratory, cardiovascular, oncology, neurobiology, inflammation and infectious diseases, pursuing both small molecule and biologics-based approaches to treatment. She will also chair the Research Leadership Committee, with oversight responsibility for the company’s preclinical research portfolio.

She joined the company in 1995 as vice president, CNS, cardiovascular and genomics research. She was appointed senior vice president, discovery biological research, in 2002 and assumed her most recent position in 2003. She came to the company from Merck Research Laboratories, where she served as executive director, department of molecular pharmacology and biochemistry.