Didier Peoc’h succeeds Klaus Hellmann as General Manager of Klifovet. Melinda Poole appointed as Head of US Clinical R&D.

Argenta today announced the appointment of two new senior leadership members. Effective April 18, Melinda Poole, DVM, will join the company in the role of Head of US Clinical R&D, and on May 1, Didier Peoc’h, PhD, will become General Manager of Klifovet, Argenta’s Contract Research Organisation(CRO) in Europe. Melinda will have a dual reporting relationship to Peter McCarthy, COO North America, and Edward McGruder, Global Head of Research, Development & Innovation (RD&I) at Argenta. Didier will report to Edward. Both Didier and Melinda will serve as members of the RD&I Leadership Team.

 “We are excited to promote Didier and welcome Melinda to Argenta. Not only are they both strong collaborative leaders, their vast experience in product development and knowledge of our industry will help to further elevate our services and contribute to the success of our customers,” said Edward McGruder.

Melinda has 18 years of global animal health industry experience and an impressive track record in regulatory affairs and clinical development in veterinary pharmaceuticals and biologicals. Prior to joining Argenta, Melinda was Head of Veterinary Medicine at American Regent Animal Health. Earlier in her career, she worked in a variety of roles for Kindred BioSciences, Dechra Development, Elanco Animal Health, and Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, and was responsible for the clinical development of several products that were successfully brought to market.

“Argenta is making big investments to create significant impact for its customers in the animal health industry. I am thrilled to be able to lead the US Clinical R&D team and work together to support the realisation of their ambitious goals,” said Melinda Poole.

Didier joined Klifovet in 2021 as Global Product Development Director and will take over the organisation’s leadership role from founder and current CEO, Klaus Hellmann. Didier has extensive technical and leadership experience in animal and human health. Prior to joining Klifovet, he spent over a decade with Vetoquinol in product development as well as manufacturing sciences and operational excellence roles. Before that, he oversaw new project ventures at Catalent and was Director of Research & Development at Cardinal Health.

“I am honoured to get the opportunity to take over the leadership from Klaus Hellmann, the founder and CEO of Klifovet. He has built a strong business and a high-performing team of talented and driven people who have consistently added tremendous value to the services that we provide to our customers. It’s my mission to continue this journey,” said Didier Peoc’h.

“It has been a pleasure to work with Didier since he joined the Klifovet team in September last year. I wish him all the best and trust that he will be supported in successfully leading Klifovet into its next chapter for the benefit of our team and our clients,” Klaus Hellmann added.

Argenta acquired Klifovet in September 2021 to expand its Contract Research capabilities into Europe. The company praises Klaus Hellmann for his strong vision and leadership that made Klifovet into the organisation it is today. He built an incredible team that is extremely valued by the entire Argenta organisation. Klaus will stay with Argenta in a new role focused on the European and Asian market to support the ambitious growth strategy of the company.

About Argenta

Argenta is the only combined global Contract Research Organisation (CRO) and Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO) dedicated to animal health. Founded in 2006 in New Zealand, Argenta’s talented, diverse, and committed employees are driven to deliver excellence in animal health to customers around the world. With research and GMP manufacturing operations in New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, Argenta operates from ‘Molecule to Market’ in partnership with its customers to support their R&D, regulatory, preclinical and clinical research, and manufacturing needs along the veterinary product development journey. For more information about Argenta, please visit www.argentaglobal.com.

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