Acorda has reshuffled its senior business leadership, with Michael Rodgers appointed chief financial officer replacing David Lawrence who becomes chief business officer.<br /><br />Rodgers joins from BG Medicine where he also served as chief financial officer. During his time at BG he led the company's initial public offering and helped launch its first product.<br /><br />His previous roles include chief financial officer of Indevus Pharmaceuticals, where he stayed for 10 years before the company was acquired by Endo Pharmaceuticals.<br /><br />Rodgers' predecessor as Acorda's chief financial officer David Lawrence moves to the newly-created role of chief business officer, where he will be responsible for the company's technical operations, project management, IT and facilities.<br /><br />“We've grown rapidly over the past several years, and our internal operations need to keep pace with the demands of the business,” said Lawrence.<br /><br />“I'm excited to take on this new challenge at Acorda, overseeing and optimising development of our business operations and infrastructure.”<br /><br />This growth is led by six therapies in clinical studies that address a range of disorders including post-stroke deficits, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, stroke, peripheral nerve damage, spinal cord injury, neuropathic pain and heart failure. 