IFPMA appoints former B-MS exec Eduardo Pisani as new director general

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) has appointed Eduardo Pisani as its new director general. He will take office on January 1, 2010, and will succeed Alice Greenidge, who was appointed to the post in the spring of 2008 to replace long-term incumbent Harvey Bale, but departed in November of that year.

Michael Boyd has served as acting director general since April 30 this year. Mr Boyd will be joining global drug behemoth Pfizer in January as vice president, public affairs, Biopharmaceuticals.

Haruo Naito, newly-elected president of the IFPMA and chief executive of Japanese drug major Eisai, said: 'Mr Pisani is well-equipped to lead the IFPMA Secretariat, as he has 20 years of professional experience in the health care sector and has worked on public policy and legal affairs for a number of companies, while also contributing to the activities of several IFPMA committees.

Mr Pisani comes to the IFPMA from Bristol-Myers Squibb, a company he joined in 2001, and in which he had risen to the position of vice president, international policy and government affairs. During his time at B-MS, he contributed to the development of policy initiatives at European level in major disease areas like infectious diseases and mental health, as well as to industry work on the value of medicines. He also established the first cross-sectoral industry advocacy group on health care policy in Brussels, under the aegis of the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU.

Prior to that, Mr Pisani, an Italian national, held positions as legal counsel at Immuno AG in Belgium and Austria, at Baxter Healthcare in Belgium and Italy, and in European policy and government affairs at Adamson Associates and SmithKline Beecham in Belgium. He started his career in 1989, in the marketing department of Lederle France.