Otonomy, Inc. announced the appointment of Robert Savel as chief technical officer. Mr. Savel brings more than 15 years of experience in managing technical operations for marketed drug products, including manufacturing and quality control. He will be replacing Gerald Wroblewski, who is retiring.

Prior to joining the company, Mr. Savel served as general manager and senior vice president of operations for Optimer Pharmaceuticals where he oversaw quality, manufacturing, and supply chain functions during late-stage development and commercialization of the company's antibiotic therapeutic. Prior to Optimer, he served as senior vice president and chief technical officer for Inspire Pharmaceuticals, where he led manufacturing and other operations for the ophthalmic pharmaceutical company. Mr. Savel also served as senior vice president of technical operations for the antibody manufacturer, PDL BioPharma.

Prior to this role he held leadership operating positions with Johnson & Johnson, including vice president, quality and compliance overseeing multiple manufacturing sites supporting $5 billion in pharmaceutical product sales, and both manufacturing and quality management roles with the ALZA controlled delivery system subsidiary. Earlier in his career he was a principal consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers and held various management positions in manufacturing at Ingersoll Rand.