Pfizer’s ex man joins Vertex as Vice President and Chief Legal Officer

Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company has appointed  Pfizer’s ex Senior Vice president Michael J. Parini to the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer.

Michael J. Parini

As stated in the company’s Monday press release, Parini will serve as a member of Vertex’s Executive Committee, reporting directly to Jeffrey Leiden, M.D., PhD., Vertex’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Parini will begin his role with Vertex effective January 4, 2016.

Parini joins Vertex after more than a decade at Pfizer Inc., the company that has been heating the headlines lately with a record breaking $160 billion buy of Irish-based Botox-maker Allergan.

Parini served in multiple leadership roles within Pfizer’s global legal team. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel and was responsible for the strategic management of Pfizer’s global litigation activities, including civil, intellectual property, government and employment litigation.

Parini also served as Chief Counsel for multiple key business units within Pfizer, advising Pfizer’s leadership team on key business issues related to investment decisions, patent disputes, global pricing strategies and commercial operations activities, among other responsibilities.

“Michael brings to Vertex extensive global legal experience related to the development and commercialization of multiple medicines,” said Dr. Leiden.

“I welcome Michael to the Vertex team and believe his expertise will be invaluable as we bring our cystic fibrosis medicines to more people worldwide and advance key research and development programs across many diseases.”

Parini said: “I’ve watched Vertex’s evolution over recent years and am thrilled to join this team at such an exciting and pivotal time in the company’s history. I believe that Vertex is one of very few companies that has the potential to make a fundamental change in the treatment of many serious diseases, and I look forward to joining the team in January.”