ArQule names Paolo Pucci as chief executive

Woburn biotechnology company ArQule Inc. today named Paolo Pucci as chief executive and a board member, effective June 9.

(In a 2007 photo at right, a worker in an ArQule lab checks out ARQ 501, a drug candidate intended to treat various forms of cancer, including head-and-neck cancers and pancreatic cancer.)

Pucci succeeds Stephen A. Hill, who became president and chief executive of Solvay Pharmaceuticals on April 1. Peter Lawrence will continue as president and chief operating officer, the company said.

Pucci currently serves as senior vice president and president of the Bayer-Schering Pharmaceuticals Global Oncology/Specialized Therapeutics divisions. (AP)