Dr. Herman J. Eichel has been appointed...

Dr. Herman J. Eichel has been appointed president of SPI Pharmaceuticals Inc., replacing Dominic Luizzi, who has taken over as director of corporate communications for SPI’s parent company, ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. Both SPI and ICN are public companies based in Costa Mesa.

Luizzi said Wednesday that the rapid growth of SPI, which makes anti-viral drugs, prompted him to step aside as president. He said the company now employs 150 and expects to grow to about 400 by May.

Eichel, who received his doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Cincinnati in 1966, had served as president of Adria Laboratories Inc., an Ohio-based research and development company, since 1974. Eichel is president-elect of the American Institute of Chemists and a member of the executive committee of the Ohio Academy of Science.