Flemish biotechnical world welcomes two former Janssen Pharmeceuticals top managers

Two former senior staff members of Janssen Pharmaceuticals have tightened ties with the Flemish biotechnology world. Ajit Shetty has joined the board of directors of the Flemish Institute for Biotechnology VIB. Following his period as CEO with Janssen Pharmaceuticals from 1998 to 2008 and his chairmanship of the board of directors from 2004, he held a top management position with parent company Johnson&Johnson, reporting directly to CEO Bill Weldon. Staf Van Reet, who served as general director of Janssen Pharmaceuticals during the nineties, has been appointed president of the board of directors of VIB. The latter employs 1 300 researchers across a large number of universities and has been fulfilling a key function in the coordination and stimulation of biotechnology research in Flanders for many years in addition to its role as hotbed for a whole range of biotechnology companies such as the listed Ablynx and Devgen.