A German pharmaceutical boss has joined the board of painless injection company Powderject, based at Oxford Science Park, writes Maggie Hartford.

Gerald Mller, former chief executive of Boehringer Mannheim, has 25 years' experience in the pharmaceutical and medical diagnostics industry.

Boehringer Mannheim has revenues of more than 2bn and 18,000 employees. Herr Mller managed the recent merger of the group with Hoffmann-La Roche.

Following the merger he led the global development and strategic marketing function at Roche Pharmaceuticals, where he had responsibility for 1,500 staff.

He is currently chairman and chief executive of health-care service provider VBB and is Chairman of MorphoSys AG and November AG, two of Germany's leading publicly-quoted biotechnology companies.

Dr Paul Drayson, chairman and chief executive of PowderJect, said: "Gerald brings a wealth of experience in running international pharmaceutical companies and has an impressive track record of successfully managing the integration of businesses following acquisition."