Mountain View, Ca., USA - July 24, 2013, Mountain View, Ca., USA - VIVUS, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, announced that it has appointed Michael Astrue to serve as its chairman and Anthony Zook to serve as its chief executive officer.
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Mr. Astrue formerly served as Chief Executive Officer of Transkaryotic Therapies, Chairman of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, and Commissioner of Social Security. Mr. Astrue received his bachelor’s degree from Yale University. He then moved to Washington, DC, to work for US Sen. Richard Schweiker (R-PA) before attending Harvard Law School, where he received his JD.
Mr. Astrue clerked for US District Court Judge Walter J. Skinner before going to work for the Boston firm of Ropes & Gray. A year later he returned to Washington to serve as a deputy assistant secretary within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and then counselor to the commissioner of the Social Security Administration from 1981 to 1989. He later rose to general counsel of HHS.
During the transitional year 1988-89 between the Reagan and Bush administrations, Mr. Astrue served as associate counsel to the President. Briefly, he also was commissioned as the White House ethics officer at the time of the Iran-Contra affair. He also helped draft the operations plan for the incapacitation of the president, and he did background checks on cabinet appointees.
During the 1990s, Mr. Astrue worked in the biotechnology industry. He served as general counsel for Cambridge-based Biogen Inc., before moving to Transkaryotic Therapies Inc. Eventually, he took over the leadership of TKT, serving as president and CEO.
In October 2001, Mr. Astrue was the favorite to win nomination to be commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, but withdrew his name after opposition from several Democratic Senators including his home-state senator, Edward Kennedy, who objected to Mr. Astrue’s strong ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
Mr. Zook formerly served as Executive Vice President, Global Commercial Operations for AstraZeneca and President of Medimmune. He began his sales career in 1983 at Berlex Laboratories, where he held various positions, including District Sales Manager, Marketing Director, Vice President of Commercial Operations, Vice President for National Accounts and then Vice President of Sales.
He joined Astra USA in 1997 as its Vice President of Marketing and Sales, and then served as Vice President for Sales since 1998. Previously, he served as Vice President for Sales of AstraZeneca. He has been a Director of AltheRx, Inc. since May 2, 2013. He is a Member of the Board for First State Innovation. He serves as a Member of the Board for the Pennsylvania Division of the American Cancer Society and a Member of the Executive Council for National Pharmaceutical Council.
He serves as a Member of the Board of Trustees for the Healthcare Leadership Council. He served as a Director of Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, Inc., from September 2009 to January 20, 2010. ■