<<Tran came from 'XenoPort', not exactly a big name pharma>>
XenoPort has a market cap of $1.2 billion. Not too shabby--but it means he doesn't rely on Big Pharma resources to get clinical trials done. And I have already posted comments from people who know him.
<<Tran might have been the only applicant for the job who didn't back out when the IND was rejected.>>
If you give that more than a few seconds of cursory thought, you'll realize that is absurd.