BRUSSELS, Belgium - The board and membership of EuropaBio, the European Association for Bioindustries, have appointed Hugo Schepens as their new secretary-general. He will join the association in October as the successor to Anthony Arke.

Hugo Schepens, a native of Belgium, has been running the Brussels office of PhRMA, the U.S. research-based pharmaceutical industry association, since 1993, working on European policy issues. He previously worked in the pharmaceutical industry and in health economics.

"We feel fortunate to have attracted such an excellent candidate," said Pol Bamelis, member of the board of Bayer AG and chairman of EuropaBio's board of management. He said Schepens "has first-hand experience of EU biotechnology issues and a solid record of interacting with European policy-makers and business leaders. I am confident that he will add considerable value to our association.

"I am fully aware of the challenges which biotechnology is facing in Europe," Schepens said, "but we also see exceptional opportunities ahead of us. We want to engage all stakeholders in a constructive dialogue, so that business and society may draw full benefit from the many promises which biotechnology is holding."