CHANGES AT THE TOPHarry Penner Jr. has taken the reins of office from PhilipWhitcome as Neurogen Corp.'s president and chief executiveofficer. Penner, who joins the Branford, Conn.,neuropharmaceutical company Dec. 1, brings with him 12 yearsof experience at the Danish company Novo Nordisk A/S, mostrecently as the president of Novo Nordisk of North America Inc.Whitcome is stepping down for personal reasons related to hiswife's health.

Patrick Gage is the new chief operating officer of GeneticsInstitute Inc. Gage joined the Cambridge, Mass., company in1989 as its senior vice president of scientific affairs. He hadbeen the vice president and director of exploratory research atHoffmann-La Roche Inc. prior to joining Genetics Institute.

International Murex Technologies Corp. of Norcross, Ga., haspromoted J. David Tholen to chief executive officer andpresident. C. Robert Cusick, previously CEO and vice chairman,will continue as vice chairman and a member of the board ofdirectors. Tholen has held the positions of chief operatingofficer and president of International Murex since June. Hejoined the company from Abbott Laboratories, where he hadbeen the divisional vice president and general manager of itsdiagnostics division.

The new president of Celgene Corp. is Sol Barer. He succeedsThomas Odiorne, who died in July.

Barer was a founder of the biotechnology effort at CelaneseCorp., which evolved into Celgene. Barer has been with theWarren, N.J., company since 1987, most recently as executivevice president, science and technology/general manager chiralproducts.

Micrologix Biotech Inc. has appointed Stephen Elliston as itspresident and chief executive officer. Elliston joins theVancouver, British Columbia, company from Burroughs-Wellcome Canada Inc., where he served as vice president andgeneral manager of its medical division. Micrologix currentlymarkets vaccines and diagnostics to the aquaculture industry,but it is developing human health-care products based on themolecular basis of microbial infections.

Richard Sharpe has assumed the responsibilities of presidentand chief executive officer at Arcturus Pharmaceutical Corp. ofWoburn, Mass. Sharpe, a co-founder of the company and amember of the board of directors, was previously executivevice president.

OxiGene Inc., which is developing drugs that can stimulate thebody's cellular DNA repair process, has appointed Ronald Peroas its president. Pero, one of the co-founders of the New Yorkcompany, was also its chief scientific officer. As well, RichardBrown, another of Oxigene's founders and a director, has beenappointed as its chairman. John Lucas continues as chiefexecutive officer.

Richard Reichow will serve as the interim president and chiefexecutive officer of Sphinx Pharmaceuticals Corp., following thedeparture of Clayton Duncan, who has tendered his resignationeffective Nov. 30. Reichow has been involved with Sphinx ofDurham, N.C., since its first venture financing in 1988. HehasJserved as the firm's vice president of finance andadministration since 1991.

(c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.