FREMONT, Calif., March 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PDL BioPharma, Inc. today announced that Bob Savel will join the company as senior vice president of technical operations, overseeing all manufacturing and quality functions at both the company's Minnesota and California sites. Savel will report to PDL's chief executive officer, Mark McDade.
"We're pleased to welcome Bob to PDL at this turning point in the company's evolution," said Mark McDade, chief executive officer, PDL BioPharma. "We're on the cusp of advancing several of our products into later-stage clinical trials, our early stage pipeline is progressing and our research labs are well on pace to meet our goal of identifying a new clinical antibody candidate each year. Bob will ensure that our quality and manufacturing standards remain at the highest level for all our commercial and clinical programs, while working to optimize our efficiency and processes in these key areas."
Prior to joining PDL, Savel served as Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) vice president of quality and compliance for the North American Region for Pharmaceuticals, where he led a large quality assurance and lab organization at multiple sites that manufactured biologics, pharmaceuticals, transdermals, cytotoxic agents and drug/device combinations. During his seven-year tenure at J&J, he served in many positions of increasing responsibility within manufacturing and quality.
Before J&J, Savel worked as a principal management consultant at Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC). While at PWC, he led consultant teams that drove improvements in performance, culture and organizational structure for pharmaceutical companies, with a particular focus on manufacturing operations. He also held manufacturing positions at Ingersoll-Rand Corporation and Virginia Power. Savel received his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech.
About PDL BioPharma
PDL BioPharma, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing innovative therapies for severe or life- threatening illnesses. Commercially focused in the acute-care hospital setting, PDL markets and sells its portfolio of products in the United States and Canada. A pioneer of antibody humanization technology, PDL promotes this technology through licensing agreements and clinical development of its own diverse pipeline of investigational compounds. PDL's research platform centers on the discovery and development of antibodies to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases. For more information, please visit www.pdl.com.
NOTE: PDL BioPharma and the PDL BioPharma logo are considered trademarks of PDL BioPharma, Inc.
PDL BioPharma, Inc.CONTACT: Ami Knoefler, Corporate and Investor Relations, +1-510-284-8851,or ami.knoefler@pdl.com, or Jean Suzuki, Investor Relations,+1-510-574-1550, or jean.suzuki@pdl.com, both of PDL BioPharma, Inc.
Web site: http://www.pdl.com//
