Cassella named Concert Pharmaceuticals' chief development officer

Concert Pharmaceuticals announced Wednesday that James Cassella was chosen to fill the company’s newly created role of chief development officer.

In the new position, Cassella will lead product development strategy and operations while overseeing all manufacturing, clinical and preclinical activities.

“Jim has extensive experience leading the development of both novel compounds and reformulations of existing drugs for new indications,” Concert's President and CEO Roger Tung said.

Cassella has over 25 years of experience in drug development, including clinical trial design and execution, product development, regulatory affairs and product registration in the U.S. and European Union.

Cassella served as executive vice president for research and development and chief scientific officer of Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and has held multiple management positions at Neurogen Corp. including senior vice president of clinical research and development. Prior to entering the biotechnology industry, he was an assistant professor of neuroscience at Oberlin College.

“His broad experience base and proven leadership skills will be a great asset to Concert as we continue to advance and broaden our clinical pipeline,” Tung said. “We are excited to have Jim join Concert at this important time in our further evolution as a product development company.”