Welcome to this week's Chutes & Ladders, our roundup of hirings, firings and retirings throughout the industry. Please send the good word—or the bad—from your shop to Max Bayer, and we will feature it here at the end of each week.
Former Translate Bio CMO Ann Barbier jumps to same role at Camp4 Therapeutics
Camp4 Therapeutics
Ann Barbier, M.D., Ph.D., has been hired by Camp4 Therapeutics as chief medical officer, the same position she held at Translate Bio before it was acquired by Sanofi.
She'll be tasked with overseeing the company's preclinical work, namely its candidates for severe epilepsy and urea cycle disorder, which are closest to human trials. The company is betting on RNA and its platform's ability to upregulate genes as the keys to paving new ground in gene modulation. While at Translate, Barbier oversaw development of the company's mRNA-based cystic fibrosis therapy, but inconsistent clinical results have evidently left it sidelined from Sanofi's pipeline as of now. Fierce Biotech
Robert Hollingsworth takes on CSO job at Shoreline after spearheading Pfizer's oncology vax work
Shoreline Biosciences
Robert Hollingsworth, Ph.D., is moving coast-to-coast after bidding farewell to Pfizer to help Shoreline Bioscience transfer its potential into its pipeline as chief scientific officer. His new stint comes after overseeing the Big Pharma's cancer vaccine program as VP of cancer vaccines and immunotherapy.
Now, he moves to a budding startup that's nabbed a number of partnerships and tantalizing investments from established companies like Gilead and BeiGene. Shoreline's promise lies in its engineered natural killer cells and macrophages that it hopes add precision to immunotherapy. Fierce Biotech
Former Lilly CFO accused of inappropriate behavior tapped by Zai Lab for C-suite
Zai Lab
Josh Smiley has found his next gig a year after stepping down as CFO of Eli Lilly following an investigation into personal communications with colleagues that an external investigator concluded were "inappropriate." In addition to resigning, he forfeited $24 million in cash and equity. But Zai Lab is ready to give him a second chance, tapping him as chief operating officer beginning in August to oversee business, finance and global operations. The company has a deep pipeline including four commercial products and 28 candidates in the wings. Zai Lab declined to comment when asked about Smiley's past conduct. Fierce Biotech
> As a part of companywide downsizing, Eliseo Salinas, M.D. is retiring from Passage Bio after leading the company's research and development work. Fierce Biotech
> Gene editing-focused Metagenomi made a couple of splashes, hiring Christine Foster, Ph.D., as chief business officer and Alan H. Cohen, M.D., as chief medical officer and SVP of monogenic diseases. Release
> Alexander Schuth, M.D., is adding company financials to his purview after being tapped as CFO of Denali Therapeutics in addition to his existing role as chief operating officer. Release
> Scott D. Thomas was named chief commercial officer of Seer after leading sales and marketing for Singular Genomics. Release
> Aslan Pharmaceuticals hired Alex Kaoukhov, M.D., as chief medical officer after he oversaw clinical development of Bioniz Therapeutics' pipeline of autoimmune therapies. Release
> Garuda Therapeutics, a company working on producing blood stem cell therapies, named James Desiderio chief regulatory officer after he led regulatory affairs and quality at Acceleron Pharma. Release
> Peter Piliero, M.D., is jumping from GSK's consumer healthcare team to be VP of medical affairs at Melinta Therapeutics, a role that will have him implementing integrated medical plans for Melinta's portfolio. Release
> Victoria Demby is joining Adlai Nortye as SVP of global regulatory affairs after leading GSK's oncology regulatory therapeutic group on an interim basis. Release
> After Rosh Dias, M.D., stepped down, Endocrine-focused Spruce Biosciences has named Will Charlton, M.D., as its new chief medical officer following his stint leading clinical development for 89bio. Release
> Steven L. Haddad, M.D., is jumping from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons to join Extremity Medical as chief clinical officer, overseeing the development of the company's product portfolio. Release
> After leading Q2 Solutions, Costa Panagos is jumping to IQVIA as president of its R&D solutions unit. Release
> Elevation Oncology has tapped David Dornan, Ph.D., as its new chief scientific officer, the same role the oncologist held at Bolt Therapeutics. Release
> Peter Guzzo, Ph.D., is joining Variational AI to spearhead the company's AI-focused drug discovery program after leading drug discovery at Tryp Therapeutics. Release
> Aerie Pharmaceuticals has finished a five-month search for a new CFO, naming Peter Lang for the job, former managing director of financial advisory firm Ridge Advisory. Release