PharmAust (ASX:PAA) has appointed Dr Paul D'Sylva as managing director, also making him responsible for the company's wholly owned subsidiary companies Epichem, Mimotopes and PharmAust Manufacturing.

"The company has grown to a size now where it's more than just a compilation of its subsidiaries. It's an integrated pharmaceutical company. So not only do we need managers running the subsidiaries, we need someone running the public company," said D'Sylva.

PharmAust's management team will now comprise of: Dr Wayne Best, chief scientific officer, Dr Colette Sims, general manager (Epichem), Wayne Sampson, general manager (Mimotopes), and Dr John Moursounidis, general manager (PharmAust Manufacturing).

"The strategy for the company going forward is to grow it through partnerships with high quality and complementary partners in our fields of activity," said D'Sylva.

PharmAust Manufacturing has previously partnered with Malaysian generics manufacturer Xepa Soul Pattinson and PharmAust subsidiary Mimotopes has signed a deal with US life science company Invitrogen, said D'Sylva. "We will announce another major partnering deal probably within the next week or so," he said.

Other appointments

Sydney-based artificial heart specialist Ventracor (ASX:VCR) has appointed Dr Tom Richards as its new US-based VP of clinical and regulatory affairs.

Cancer biotech Psiron (ASX:PSX) has named Dr Stephen Lambros as its North American VP of operations.