InVivo Names New CEO

On Dec. 23, InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. appointed of Mark D. Perrin as chief executive officer, effective January 6, 2014. Upon his appointment, Perrin also will become a member of the company’s board of directors.

Perrin most recently served as president of Dennan Consulting, a biotech consulting firm. From 2005 to 2010, he served as president and CEO of ConjuChem Biotechnologies. From 2002 to 2005, he was executive vice president and chief commercial officer for Orphan Medical, until it was acquired by Jazz Pharmaceuticals. From 1995 to 2001, he was executive vice president, Commercial Operations for COR Therapeutics.  Earlier in his career he was vice president for Burroughs Wellcome and for Lederle Laboratories, with responsibility for U.S. commercial operations at each company.

InVivo Chairman John McCarthy said: “Mark is an excellent fit for InVivo. His extensive commercial background will be invaluable to portfolio decisions for our novel hydrogel technology and our new emphasis on partnering as a primary way to finance new programs. He also has solid experience raising money, which will be important to us as we continue to focus our critical resources on high-value opportunities that maximize long-term value for our shareholders. Importantly, Mark has the integrity, strategic vision and work ethic to take InVivo to the next level.”

McCarthy added: “I also want to acknowledge the accomplishments of our Interim chief executive officer, Mike Astrue. In August of [2013], Mike stepped into a difficult situation on very short notice. He moved our stalled lead clinical program forward at an impressive rate, developed a new business plan designed to reduce risk and increase shareholder value, initiated a series of important business development discussions, and added a first class-team of permanent executives, interim executives, and consultants that has greatly improved management of the company. It’s been a true pleasure working closely with Mike over the past five months, and on behalf of the full board and employee base, we extend our thanks and appreciation for all his great work.”

In other recent management news, InVivo promoted Lisa Crockett to vice president of Regulatory and Kristin Neff to vice president of Clinical Operations.

Cambridge, Mass.-based InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. is a biomaterials company with unique technologies for drug delivery with a focus on treatment of spinal cord injuries. The company was founded in 2005 with proprietary technology co-invented by Robert Langer, professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Joseph P. Vacanti, M.D., who is affiliated with Massachusetts General Hospital.