Boyds Expands Regulatory Leadership to Meet Growing Demand
The firm added two senior regulatory experts to integrate oversight with clinical operations for its clients.
Updated on Oct. 16, 2026 in People
Boyds has appointed Vicki Hayes as Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Jan Ohotski as Director of Regulatory Affairs to bolster its internal team. These hires arrive as the company scales its operations to address rising demand for regulatory and clinical support.
Why it matters
Expanding internal regulatory expertise allows specialized firms to better navigate complex clinical trial landscapes and drug development pathways for their clients. The appointments reflect a strategic move by Boyds to increase capacity for managing regulatory requirements alongside existing clinical operations.
The firm added two leadership positions, bringing together combined experience of over 30 years in regulatory affairs. The appointments follow a period of scaling to meet growing market demand.
The players
Boyds
A professional services firm providing regulatory and clinical support for drug and biotechnology development.
Vicki Hayes
An executive with over two decades of regulatory experience, including past roles at Amgen and Eli Lilly.
Jan Ohotski
A regulatory leader and former scientist who previously headed the Cell and Gene Therapy team at Medpace.
The details
Vicki Hayes joins the company after leading global regulatory affairs and policy at a U.S. biotechnology firm and serving as a board director at a regulatory consultancy, with prior experience at Amgen and Eli Lilly. Jan Ohotski moves to the team from his previous role as head of the Cell and Gene Therapy team at Medpace, adding a technical background in drug discovery and pharmacology. These hires are positioned to integrate regulatory strategy with clinical operations, streamlining the development process for client projects.
Timeline
October 16, 2026: Boyds announced the new leadership appointments.
Market Landscape
These appointments follow the industry trend where firms integrate regulatory oversight directly into clinical operations to streamline development. This shift mirrors the standard competitive strategy among CROs seeking to manage complex drug approval pathways under a unified project structure.
Operators in life sciences should monitor these leadership changes to assess potential shifts in the firm's capacity for complex drug development projects. Benchmarking your own regulatory staffing against these levels of senior experience may help in evaluating your firm's competitive posture.
The takeaway
Integrating senior regulatory leadership can provide a strategic edge in navigating highly technical clinical trials. Firms should track whether these new hires drive changes in project turnaround times or regulatory filing success rates in the coming quarters.
Further reading
For more on shifts in life sciences management, visit our People section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Pharmafile.
