BRIEF—BIAL appoints Joerg Holenz as R&D general manager

Portugal’s largest drugmaker BIAL has announced the appointment of Joerg Holenz as R&D general manager, a role that he will assume alongside as a member of the board of directors.

Dr Holenz replaces Patricio Soares da Silva who steps down after more than 25 years leading the company's R&D programs, including the delivery of an antiepileptic treatment and a medicine for Parkinson's disease, which have been marketed on a global scale and essential for tens of thousands of patients throughout the world.

Dr Holenz’ professional career started in 1998 at Grünenthal Pharmaceuticals in Germany. From 2003 to 2006, he served as head of medicinal chemistry of Barcelona-based Laboratórios Esteve.

In 2006, he joined AstraZeneca’s CNS/Pain Research Unit in Sweden, as neuroscience project leader.

In 2012, Dr Holenz moved to the USA as director for discovery and pre-clinical sciences within AstraZeneca’s virtual Neuroscience Unit in Boston, and in 2016, he built up the Neuroscience Proof-of-Concept unit for GlaxoSmithKline in Upper Providence, Pennsylvania.

In 2018, Dr Holenz joined Grünenthal as senior vice president neuroscience based in Cambridge, USA, and worked on designing and executing the company’s new R&D organization as well as building the US Grünenthal Pain Innovation Hub.