Roche hires new head of inflammation/virology research; Hospira recruits former Actavis exec; Alcon names new CFO

Swiss drug major Roche (ROG.VX) says that Jacques Banchereau has joined the company as senior vice president and head of the inflammation and virology discovery and translational areas (DTAs). In this role, he will oversee research and early development up to late stage development in the field of inflammation, including autoimmune and respiratory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as well as Virology with hepatitis, HIV, influenza and other infectious diseases.

Dr Banchereau will relocate to the Roche R&D site in Nutley, New Jersey where the company's Inflammation and Virology DTAs are headquartered. He also will serve as Roche Nutley's chief scientific officer.

Since 1996, Dr Banchereau has been the founder and director of the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research in Dallas, Texas. The Institute focuses on studying patients suffering from diseases that involve the immune system. He orchestrated the Institute's growth, building a broad human immunology research portfolio by applying a multi-disciplinary approach and actively securing large grants to fund research activities.