Manufacturers Par Pharmaceutical has appointed Gerard Martino VP, CFO and corporate officer. He succeeds Dennis O’Connor, who is now VP, administration. Martino most recently served as VP, global materials management, at Schering-Plough.Patrick Vallance has been named SVP, drug discovery, at GlaxoSmithKline, effective May 1. He succeeds Allan Baxter, who was recently appointed SVP, medicines development. American BioScience and American Pharmaceutical Partners have appointed Joseph Hogan to the new position of VP, US sales and marketing, for Abraxis Oncology. Hogan will be responsible for leading the US sales and marketing teams for Abraxane for injectable suspension (paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension) (albumin-bound) and will be reporting to Barry Flannelly, global VP, sales and marketing. At the close of the merger between American Pharmaceutical Partners and American BioScience in the second quarter of 2006, Abraxis Oncology will become a division of the biotech company Abraxis BioScience.AgenciesAbelson-Taylor has announced the appointments of Beth Lodge, Jennifer Diskin, Tim Fergus and Meredith Keroff to account supervisor. Lodge, who has been with the agency for six years, was previously senior account executive. Before joining Abelson-Taylor, she worked at Donahoe Purohit Miller and Potentia Partners. Diskin will manage the US portion of a new product launch for Eli Lilly. Before joining Abelson-Taylor, Diskin worked for three years at CorbettAccel as account supervisor. Fergus comes to Abelson-Taylor from Atlanta-based Adair-Greene Healthcare Communications, where he was an account supervisor. He is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL, with a BS in marketing. Keroff, who rejoined Abelson-Taylor after a two-year stint at CorbettAccel Healthcare in Chicago, will be responsible for VESIcare.Public Communications’ Richard Barry has stepped down as president of the 43-year-old public relations firm and will retire from the company this September, though he will continue as a senior consultant on special client projects. Dorothy Oliver Pirovano, APR, a senior owner and 25-year veteran of the firm, will succeed Barry as president and CEO. Pirovano will be joined by two other PCI principals, Ruth Mugalian and Jill Allread, APR, to form the new ownership team, placing PCI among the largest woman-owned public relations firms in the Midwest. Media POZ Magazine, a monthly publication for people with HIV/AIDS, has selected Regan Hofmann as its new editor-in-chief. Hofmann most recently held the position of editor-in-chief of New Jersey Life magazine.