Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. appointed Roger Lias as its president and CEO, succeeding Steven King, who resigned to pursue other professional interests.

Lias is currently a member of Peregrine's board and also serves as the president of Avid Bioservices, a subsidiary of the company. He has more than 20 years of contract development and manufacturing organization, or CDMO, management experience

"We believe that Roger is best equipped to lead Peregrine, including the completion of the company's transition to a pure play CDMO operating under the Avid Bioservices name. With the demand for biologics manufacturing exceeding the industry's current capacity and expected to continue to grow in coming years, Roger and his team have worked aggressively to establish a strategic plan that we anticipate will allow the company to take advantage of this significant market opportunity," Peregrine Chairman Joseph Carleone said in a statement.