Shri Thanedar, Ph.D., has been named chief executive officer of Azopharma Product Development Group. Since 1990, Dr. Thanedar has been chairman and owner of Azopharma as well as of Chemir Analytical Services, a chemical testing company. He has a strong background in chemistry and has reorganized Azopharma’s team to leverage their fields of expertise.

Dr. Thanedar’s appointment heralds Azopharma’s shift in strategy. The company will now focus on its core capabilities of preclinical services, analytical R&D, formulation development, clinical trial manufacturing, drug delivery technologies and clinical services. According to a company statement, Azopharma “anticipates significant improvements in quality of service, communication to clients and timeliness of delivery of projects.”

As part of this new strategy, Dr. Thanedar has made a number of appointments. John Gilbert has been named vice president of Analytical Services and will direct the teams responsible for method development/validation, QC release and stability services at Azopharma’s Florida and Missouri sites. Robert Buta, vice president of Preclinical Services, will continue to be responsible for the preclinical facility. Bruce Hardee, vice president of Clinical Services, will head the clinical facility.

Dr. Kevin Kane has been appointed vice president of Business Development and will drive the emphasis on technical excellence within the sales and contracts teams. Working with Dr. Blair West (senior vice president Technical Affairs) and John McCarty (vice president Formulation Sciences), Dr. Kane will promote Azopharma’s Phase I Express® development platform.

Dr. Thanedar has made other key appointments to the Azopharma team. Rod Hartwig, vice president of Formulation and Commercial Manufacturing, will ensure that development and manufacturing programs are executed on time. Melissa Porazzo, vice president of Corporate Compliance, will lead the Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs and Program Management teams.

Dr. Thanedar commented, “We will continue to focus on our strengths and will increase attention on the science as well as delivering what we’ve promised to our clients.”