Stuart E. Needleman has been appointed chief commercial officer, Piramal Pharma Solutions (PPS). Mr. Needleman will play a key role in the growth and execution of PPS’ global pharmaceutical offerings. He will be responsible for driving all global business development activities for the services business, ranging from discovery services to commercial supply, in both drug substance and drug product.

Prior to joining the company, Mr. Needleman served as president of Laurus Synthesis, a subsidiary of Laurus Labs. Prior to Laurus, he was president and chief operating officer of Aptuit. He also held key roles at Cambrex, Oxford Asymmetry, ChiRex, Rhodia Pharma Solutions and Arch Pharmalabs.

Vivek Sharma, chief executive officer, Piramal Pharma Solutions said, “Stu is a respected senior executive in the contract services industry, having held leadership roles in business development, sales and marketing, and operations, in a distinguished career that spans nearly three decades. His track record of driving sustainable growth at attractive margins, across several leading global organizations is well acknowledged by the industry. He also has had proven experience in developing seamless solutions that integrate drug substance and drug products. We are delighted to have him on board and believe that his extensive experience, and leadership traits, will be a perfect fit with our culture, as we move forward towards the strategic vision of becoming the ‘partner-of-choice’ for firms across the globe.”