In our Bulldog blog’s tech and life science news update: RTI and ChannelAdvisor appoint new executives; Lenovo shares soar; Chelsea Therapeutics’ drug gets a recommendation from an FDA advisory panel; and IBM wins an enterprise award.

  • RTI International names new chief information officer

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Neale D’Rozario is now chief information officer for RTI International, where his responsibilities will include technology planning for the research institute.

RTI said that D’Rozario’s first priority will be to create a global IT strategy aligned with RTI’s business plans. D’Rozario brings more than 33 years of IT experience to RTI; he been a CIO for the last 21 years at firms such as Genworth Financial, Sensus, Misys Healthcare Systems, Channel Master, Cogent Communications, Suntrust Capital Markets and Barclays Capital. He is also the founder and president of D’Rozario Consulting Services.

  • Lenovo shares soar

MORRISVILLE – Shares of PC maker Lenovo surged Wednesday to its highest close in 14 years following reports that suggested the company bucked a broader industry decline in PC shipments in the last quarter, Reuters reported.

Lenovo, which operates dual headquarters in Beijing and Morrisville, jumped 5.5 percent to it highest level since April 2000. The company’s stock has risen more than 10 percent since research firms Gartner and IDC released their reports on Jan. 9. 

  • ChannelAdvisor appoints new HR executive

MORRISVILLE – ChannelAdvisor has named Judith Barnett the company’s new vice president of human resources.

Barnett will oversee global human resources for the e-commerce software firm. She will also lead efforts to recruit and retain workers.
Before joining ChannelAdvisor, Barnett was vice president of global human resources for Morrisville mobile telecommunications technologies company Tekelec, a position she held for eight years before it was acquired by Oracle last June. Barnett joined Tekelec in 2006 after a 20-year career at Nortel Networks in various HR positions.

  • Chelsea Therapeutics gets positive recommendation on dizziness drug

CHARLOTTE – An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration voted 16-1 to recommend approval of Chelsea Therapeutics’ first drug, Northera.

Northera was developed to treat neurogenic orthostatic hypotension, or nOH, which is characterized by dizziness on standing due to low blood pressure. The drug is intended to treat this condition in patients with Parkinson’s disease, multiple system atrophy and pure autonomic failure. Chelsea said an estimated 300,000 patients in the United States and Europe suffer from chronic symptomatic nOH.

It’s the second time that Charlotte-based Chelsea has sought FDA approval for the drug. The FDA declined to approve Northera in 2012 and asked the company to provide more information on the durability of the beneficial effects of the drug.
The panel’s vote is merely advisory and the FDA is not bound to the panel’s recommendation. A decision date has been set for Feb. 14.

  • IBM wins enterprise award from Citrix

RALEIGH – IBM Global Services is the winner of the first Citrix Innovation Award for Partners.

The company won in the “enterprise solutions” category. IBM Global Services, a global systems integrator, was selected for its work with Westpac Banking Corporation, an Australian financial services company. The project involved replacing local servers with a centralized environment and replacing PCs with thin clients to improve customer service and reduce IT costs and management. IBM Smart Business Desktop Cloud allows employees to use their own devices for work while improving mobility and security.

Citrix has a major presence in Raleigh with its Citrix Sharefile operation.