Jaap Venema, Ph.D., Named CSO of USP

The United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) announced that Jaap Venema will become the Chief Science Officer on April 15 and Chair of USP’s standards-setting body, the Council of Experts, at the beginning of USP’s next five-year cycle on July 1, 2015.

“I’m thrilled to be joining USP on the eve of the 2015 Convention and being part of the next USP cycle, leading to the USP bicentennial in 2020. USP’s mission to improve global health is one that aligns with my own values and aspirations and I’m looking forward to my first day at USP,” said Venema.

Dr. Venema most recently was Therapeutic Area Lead Biotherapeutics, Global Medical Affairs, Biologics Strategy Development, at Abbvie (formerly Abbott Laboratories), where he provided scientific and medical leadership on key aspects of biotherapeutics across all therapeutic areas, including biosimilars and immunogenicity. In this role, Venema had global oversight for Asia, Europe, Latin America and U.S. His 15-year tenure at Abbott and Solvay (acquired by Abbott in 2010) included leadership roles in immunology medical affairs, international medical development, vaccines development and exploratory target biology. Dr. Venema earned his Ph.D. at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. He also served on the faculty of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Free University Amsterdam), Netherlands.

Venema will report to the CEO and serve as a member of USP’s executive team. He will provide overall leadership for USP’s scientific and standards-setting activities and will have management responsibility for more than 150 staff around the world. Venema will work closely with scientific staff at USP’s global laboratory operations in Rockville, Md., U.S.; Hyderabad, India; Shanghai, China and São Paulo, Brazil as well as USP locations in Ghana, Switzerland, Ethiopia and Indonesia.

“As Chair of the Council of Experts, Jaap will have an extraordinary opportunity to help shape USP standards in the coming years. Our expert volunteers and their role in establishing our standards are what make USP a trusted source of quality standards that work to improve global health,” stated Ron Piervincenzi, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of USP.

Retiring CSO V. Srini Srinivasan, Ph.D., served USP in many capacities over a distinguished career of more than 30 years. “Dr. Srini,” as he is affectionately known to USP staff across the world, led USP’s scientific efforts during an important time in the organization’s growth, particularly in the establishment of USP’s sites in India, China and Brazil as well the development of USP’s global activities in drugs, food ingredients and dietary supplements. He served many roles during his time at USP, culminating in becoming the Chief Science Officer in 2012. Dr. Srini’s last day at USP will be May 1, 2015.

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