People In Brief: Bayer’s Mann heads WSMI, infirst has regulatory chief, Zucker leaves Vitacost, OmniActive adds VP

Bayer consumer head chairs global self-care group; Infirst Healthcare names regulatory head; Zucker out as Vitacost chief marketing officer; OmniActive hires marketing VP, relocates HQ; Berholtz moves up at Innovus; MHRA names homeopathic, herbal advisers; more People In Brief.

Bayer consumer head chairs global self-care group

The World Self-Medication Industry board appoints Bayer Consumer Care President Erica Mann as chair of the global trade association for nonprescription drugs and dietary supplements beginning in June 2014. Mann, who will succeed Chair Zhenyu Guo, CEO of Dihon Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., has been a member of the Bayer HealthCare LLC Executive Committee and responsible for the Consumer Care division since March 2011 after moving there from Pfizer Inc., where she was president and general manager for the Nutrition Division and a member of the firm’s senior management team. Ferney-Voltaire, France-based WSMI said Sept. 30 that Mann currently is a board member and has held executive posts in organizations including the South African Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association, Medicines Australia and the International Association of Infant Food Manufacturers.

Infirst Healthcare names regulatory head

Viv Edwards is infirst Healthcare Ltd.’s first director of regulatory and medical affairs, and will help the OTC developer on the road to product commercialization. U.K.-based infirst announced Sept. 16 the appointment of Edwards, who gained more than 15 years of experience in product registration at Procter & Gamble Co., where she most recently was senior regulatory affairs manager for personal health care. Infirst, a subsidiary of SEEK, landed an investment of about $38 million in 2013 to help fund the launch of a cocoa-flavored cough suppressant and an OTC analgesic under development (Also see "In Brief" - Pink Sheet, 1 Apr, 2013.).

Viv Edwards

Photo courtesy of infirst Healthcare

Zucker out as Vitacost CMO

[Vitacost.com Inc.] Chief Marketing Officer David Zucker leaves the online health store Oct. 11 to pursue other opportunities. CEO Jeffrey Horowitz said in a Sept. 16 release the Boca Raton, Fla.-based firm is searching to replace Zucker, who helped rebrand Vitacost.com and expand its customer base after joining the company in August 2011 (Also see "Vitacost Seeks To Rebrand Site Beyond Supplement Sales" - Pink Sheet, 2 Apr, 2012.).

Brandicourt returns to head Bayer HealthCare

Bayer AG's next healthcare division CEO is Pfizer Inc. executive Olivier Brandicourt, who returns to his European roots and ends the six-month leadership gap at the German conglomerate’s drug division which includes consumer health products. Brandicourt will start his tenure as chairman of Bayer HealthCare Nov. 1 and he also will be a member of Bayer AG's Executive Council, the company said Sept. 30. He most recently was president and general manager of Pfizer's emerging markets and established products business unit. Bayer’s top health care slot has been empty since Jorg Reinhardt moved to become chairman of Novartis AG in January 2013 (Also see "People In Brief" - Pink Sheet, 28 Jan, 2013.).

OmniActive hires marketing VP, relocates HQ

Dietary supplement industry veteran Lynda Doyle is VP of global marketing for OmniActive Health Technologies, the ingredient developer announced Sept. 19. Doyle most recently was VP of business development at Glanbia Nutritionals and also spent time at DSM Nutritional Products and BASF Corp. over the past 25 years. She will be based at OmniActive’s global sales and marketing headquarters in Morristown, N.J., which the firm has relocated from Mumbai, India. OmniActive President Abhijit Bhattacharya, who made the move from Mumbai to Morristown, said the relocation and addition of Doyle will bring the firm closer to its North American customers and business partners. OmniActive ingredients include Capsimax encapsulated capsicum extract and Lutemax 2020 lutein and zeaxanthin for eye health.

Berholtz moves up at Innovus

Randy Berholtz, secretary for Innovus Pharmaceuticals Inc.since July 2013, becomes acting general counsel for the developer of sexual dysfunction, cough/cold and dermatologic OTCs. Berholtz previously was executive VP, general counsel and secretary for Apricus Biosciences Inc., and his legal expertise is expected to help Innovus with future acquisitions and commercial partnerships, the company said in a Sept. 19 release. La Jolla, Calif.-based Innovus also announced it hired Lynnette Dillen as VP of finance; Dillen has held financial leadership roles for companies including Blockbuster and Catalina Restaurant Group Inc.

MHRA names homeopathic, herbal advisers

The U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency appoints Jose Prieto-Garcia to its Advisory Board on the Registration of Homeopathic Products. Also named in a Sept. 24 release were three new appointments to MHRA’s Herbal Medicines Advisory Committee: Paul Bremmer, Peter Hyland and Heath Wallace will advise the regulatory agency on traditional herbal medicines. Additionally, Paul Harrison and Barbara Pendry were reappointed to HMAC. Each of the appointments is for a three-year term through August 2016.

HerbalScience brings aboard R&D director

Botanical extract expert Dan Li, after a two-year appointment at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is appointed director of research and development at HerbalScience Group. The Bonita Springs, Fla., firm, which researches botanical platform technologies for natural health products, expects Li to assist in the extraction production phase of its commercialization process. Li has developed extraction methods for more than 500 medicinal foods and botanical ingredients generally recognized as safe, HerbalScience said Sept. 24.

Cavaliere leads GMP compliance for ESM

Former U.S. Pharmacopeia Director of Good Manufacturing Practices Mark Cavaliere takes over as head of quality control and assurance for Carthage, Mo.-based ESM Technologies. The ingredient developer said Sept. 18 Cavaliere helped develop GMP criteria for USP’s Dietary Supplement Verification Program and will ensure ESM’s manufacturing plant complies with standards for traceability and in-process specifications, among other aspects of dietary supplement GMPs. ESM supplies the ESC and NEM egg-derived ingredients for bone and joint health supplements.