Aryo Nikopour has been named vice president of scientific and technical services, and Greg McParland has been named chief operating officer at Irvine Pharmaceutical Services. These changes were made to accommodate the company’s growth, as well as the anticipated launch of its new subsidiary, Avrio Biopharmaceuticals, in January 2009.
   
Mr. Nikopour has spent five years at Irvine and has more than 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. His previous positions — at organizations such as PPD, Alpharma (Actavis), Solvay Pharmaceuticals and Solvay Animal Health — have helped develop his expertise in a range of areas, including chromatographic method development and validation, extractables/leachables studies, and implementation of new technologies and capabilities such as inhalation/nasal, biopharmaceutical and structural chemistry. He also has experience in scientific staff management, quality control, stability testing and regulatory requirements.
   
Mr. McParland has more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Prior to joining the company, he was chief executive officer of Girindus America, Inc., a member of Solvay Organics, where he lead the company through the transition to become a commercial operation focused on small molecule and oligonucleotide APIs. His additional leadership experience includes working at Cambrex Corp., Altergy Systems, NextPharma and Aerojet Fine Chemicals in the areas of operations, sales and marketing, strategic planning, process optimization, and mergers and acquisitions.
   
“We are looking forward to continued growth under the leadership of Aryo Nikopour and Greg McParland,” said Assad J. Kazeminy, chief executive officer and founder of Irvine Pharmaceutical Services. “I am confident they will lead us to even greater success as we expand and work to provide ever improving services to our clients.”