Arch Venture Partners Bob Nelsen called on Wednesday to share his excitement about the new CEO at Ikaria -- former Novartis and Merck executive Flemming Ornskov.

Nelsen -- an early investor and board member at Ikaria -- was spreading the word about Ornskov because he said it marked a successful recruitment effort of a biotechnology executive from outside the region. For Nelsen, the fact that someone of Ornskov's talent would want to relocate to Seattle is a big deal. Ornskov -- who arrived from Basel, Switzerland -- was the company's first choice, Nelsen said.

"Seattle biotech has seen a lot of negative developments recently," he said. "And we have been able to go out and recruit a big fish from out of town."

Here's the full press release announcing Ornskov's appointment. Ikaria, which was formed earlier this year with technology from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is backed with more than $10 million from Arch, Venrock, 5AM Partners and others.