BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (Nasdaq:BMRN), a US-based global biotechnology company, announced on Monday that it has named Harold S Bernstein, MD, PhD as its new senior vice president, chief medical officer and head of Clinical Development and Ganesh Vedantham, PhD as its new senior vice president, Technical Development.

Dr Bernstein has over three decades of experience in translational medicine and clinical development both in industry and academia. He was head of Translational Medicine, and vp of Global Medicines Development at Vertex. He has held roles of increasing responsibility at Merck including head of Cardiometabolic Diseases. He has served as Professor of Pediatric Cardiology and a senior investigator at the Cardiovascular Research Institute and the Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, attending physician at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital in Pediatric Cardiology, and in Cardiovascular Genetics. Presently, he holds appointments as attending cardiologist at Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital in New York, and adjunct professor of Pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Dr Vedantham brings experience in various chemistry, manufacturing, and controls (CMC) functions across R&D and Technical Operations. Additionally he has strong scientific background in many different aspects of technical development; experience in leading technical operation groups in the strategic development, production, and distribution of diverse and complex biological products on a worldwide basis; and a strong quality and regulatory foundation that build on BioMarin's outstanding compliance record. Previously Dr Vedantham served for over two decades at Amgen/Immunex in increasingly senior roles across the organisation.