Pharmaceuticals group Elan, based in Dublin, has appointed Dr Alison Pilgrim as senior vice-president of clinical development and Mr Michael George as president for North American operations. Mr George has more than 28 years of experience in the life sciences and healthcare fields, most recently as chief executive of UroCor Inc, before its acquisition on November 9th by Dianon Systems. His primary focus at Elan will be on consolidating and strengthening Elan's recently integrated US businesses. He will report directly to Mr Daniel Welch, president of Elan's worldwide bio-pharmaceuticals. Dr Pilgrim, who joins Elan on January 1st, 2002, has held senior clinical positions at Glaxo, Sanofi and most recently as head of clinical development for DuPont Pharmaceuticals.