Accreditation Council Appoints Pharma Power Players, former Otsuka CEO, Bob Oliver and Astellas Executive, S. Bob Chib to its Board of Governors.

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Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs

Aug 30, 2018, 08:57 ET

NEW YORK, Aug. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs (ACMA), an independent, self-governing organization whose mission is to promote standards of excellence around technical competencies and ethical practices for pharmaceutical industry professionals in medical & scientific affairs, has appointed two power players to its Board of Governors.

Bob Oliver, Recent CEO of V ClinBio, former President and CEO of Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, who also serves as Executive Advisor for both Cellix Bio Sciences Inc and Hyalo Technologies, while serving on the Board of Directors for Neurotez Inc., joins the ACMA Board today.

"We believe that Mr. Oliver, an ambassador to the pharmaceutical industry, also serving communities and government, will be a strong voice advocating for the ACMA and its mission to establish, certify, and maintain the competencies of qualified medical and scientific professionals working in the pharmaceutical industry," said Dr. William Soliman.

Mr. Oliver also shares his enthusiasm, "I am very pleased to join the board of such a distinguished organization as the ACMA, as they represent the future of Medical Affairs across the Life Sciences and Pharmaceutical industries. The mission of the organization is both simple and noble in that the aim is to protect the integrity of medical affairs professionals across the industry; a mission that aligns with my own values and aspirations for Pharma."

In accepting the new position, Mr. Oliver said he believes, "The Accreditation Council will play a vital role in creating the gold standard for the industry's medical affairs professionals."

The ACMA also appointed to its Board of Governors S. Bob Chib, who currently serves as the Head of Corporate Strategy, Innovation, and Business Development at Astellas Pharma. Mr. Chib has more than two decades' experience as a senior biopharma executive.

"Bob is a true renaissance man. Having worked in several functions within the industry, he understands why the ACMA mission is so important. His experience both domestically and internationally will play an incredibly important role in furthering our mission," said Dr. William Soliman.

"Throughout my career, I've been fortunate to witness improved outcomes in patients' lives as a result of collaboration, policy, and innovation within the life sciences community," said Chib. He goes on to say, "I am truly excited to join the ACMA Board of Governors and a team of experts working to advance the standards of patient care across the world."

The Board-Certified Medical Affairs Specialist Program, or BCMAS, is the industry standard for certifying and training Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs) and other medical and scientific professionals in the pharmaceutical industry. The Accreditation Council launched the first independently-administered program to train and credential medical affairs professionals in Brazil to better understand key principles in such areas as regulatory affairs, drug development, marketing, compliance and clinical trial design.

The ACMA has retained the services of Suzana Farah Rahman, Managing Director of the Apotheker Group. Suzana is responsible for leading the transformation and identification of talent for the ACMA Board of Governors.

About Bob Oliver
Bob managed a $6B P&L at Otsuka while managing a diverse and growing product portfolio across the cardio-renal, neuroscience, oncology, and medical device markets. Having compiled more than twenty five years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, across commercial and general management roles for premium companies within the industry he was instrumental in building ABILIFY®, Abilify Maintena®, SAMSCA®, SPRYCEL® and Rexulti®. As Vice President and Global Business Manager for Oncology at Wyeth, he led the global launch of Torisel for RCC and later assumed responsibility for U.S. Commercial Operations. Bob began his career in pharmaceuticals with Johnson & Johnson where he held positions of increasing responsibility. During his tenure at Otsuka, Bob held senior level executive roles including President & COO for North America and ultimately Bob was in the role of President & CEO of Otsuka America Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He previously held the position of Board Chairman for Otsuka Canada. More recently Bob served as CEO for V ClinBio, an early stage Biopharmaceutical Technology Platform. Bob is currently Executive Advisor and a member of the Board of Directors for Hyalo Technologies; as well as Executive Advisor for Cellix Bio Sciences, Inc. which recently merged with V ClinBio; additionally, he is a Board Member of Neurotez a Biotech startup focused on Alzheimer's Disease. Previously, Bob served on the board of Immunomedics a publicly traded company focused on Oncology.

Bob holds a BA from Rutgers University and an MBA from the Haub School of Business at Saint Joseph's University.

About S. Bob Chib

Sharad (Bob) Chib has more than twenty years of executive experience in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries; both in US and international healthcare markets. Most recently he served as head of Corporate Strategy, Innovation, and Business Development at Astellas Pharma, where he led the overall strategic direction and growth plan of the Americas Operations. Previously he held various leadership roles across the organization, including the head of the Strategic Account Business Unit, an incubator that accelerated Astellas' commercial model transformation. He also led the development of the Global Medical Affairs organization and the subsequent design and launch of Astellas' Global Marketing Strategy function.

Before joining Astellas in 2005, Bob served in positions of increasing responsibility at various organizations, including TAP Pharmaceuticals. His career spans a variety of diverse disciplines, such as clinical research, sales, marketing, new product planning, managed markets, business development, corporate strategy and global commercial operations.

Bob holds an Executive MBA from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management and a Bachelor of Science in Biological Studies from Rutgers University.

About the Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs
The Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs, or ACMA, is an internationally recognized, self-governing entity which provides the Board-Certified Medical Affairs Specialist Program (BCMAS).

The council works collaboratively with academia and the pharmaceutical industry to ensure that there are adequate educational and professional development opportunities for professionals involved in medical affairs as well as providing the first ever career pathway for physicians, scientists and pharmacists pursuing careers in the pharmaceutical & life sciences industry.

For additional information, visit ACMA's website, http://www.medicalaffairsspecialist.org/.

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ACMA Contact:
Sarah Basmadjian
[email protected]

Media Contact:

Triveni Arora
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(917) 421-6848

SOURCE Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs