CEO Jay Flatley to step aside after 17 years of growth at Illumina

Mar 11, 2016 8:06am

Chutes and Ladders

Welcome to this week's Chutes and Ladders, our roundup of hirings and retirings throughout the industry. Please send the good word--or the bad--from your shop to Eric Sagonowsky (email) or Amirah Al Idrus (email | Twitter), and we will feature it here at the end of each week.

CEO Jay Flatley to step aside after 17 years of growth at Illumina


	Illumina CEO Jay Flatley announced he's stepping down.

Illumina ($ILMN) CEO Jay Flatley has announced he's stepping down after 17 years at the post, handing the reins to Francis deSouza effective July 5. Flatley will head to the executive chairman's office after a tenure that saw the San Diego company grow yearly revenues from $500,000 to $2.2 billion last year. Flatley, who managed the company's expansion from 30 employees in 1999 to more than 4,800 in 2015, said "the time is right" for deSouza, currently Illumina's president, to shift into the CEO role. DeSouza joined in 2013 and has since worked with the board and the company's top management, including Flatley, to spur product development and marketing. "Today, having witnessed the impact our technology has on patients' lives, and having experienced the passion and dedication of our employees, I could not be more honored, or more confident in our future," deSouza said in a statement. Story

Sanofi pulls in former Novartis exec Ameet Nathwani for CMO job


	Sanofi Dr. Ameet Nathwani was named chief medical officer.

Sanofi ($SNY) poached former Novartis ($NVS) exec Dr. Ameet Nathwani for its chief medical officer position this week, replacing Dr. Paul Chew, who is retiring later this year. Nathwani, who was also named EVP, brings to Sanofi more than 20 years of experience in the pharma industry, previously holding down various leadership roles at Novartis, Glaxo, SmithKline Beecham and GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) in Europe and the U.S. At Sanofi, he'll work with the Global R&D and Global Business units and be responsible for patient safety and medical quality assurance, working to provide "the highest standard of transparency and compliance in Sanofi's interactions with healthcare providers, patients and medical organizations," Sanofi's release said. "We are very happy to count on Ameet's strong experience in both development and medical fields," Sanofi CEO Olivier Brandicourt added. "I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Paul Chew for his many valuable contributions to Sanofi. During his long-standing career, Paul has been a highly valued and key Sanofi leader who has demonstrated strong medical leadership." Release

Hoping to rebound, KaloBios hires Cameron Durrant as CEO


	KaloBios Cameron Durrant was named CEO.

Seeking to move past recent struggles, this week KaloBios named Cameron Durrant its next CEO. He'll be tasked with guiding the company through its next stage after a rocky recent history that includes an announcement that it was closing, Martin Shkreli's short-lived CEO stint, a share price roller-coaster ride and an eventual Nasdaq delisting. The company filed for bankruptcy late last year and will now seek to regroup. Durrant brings to the biotech industry experience from leadership roles at ECR Pharmaceuticals, PediatRx, PediaMed Pharmaceuticals, Taran Pharma, Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ), Pharmacia, GlaxoSmithKline and Merck ($MRK). Filing

Baxalta laid off 120 employees in California. Story

Reeling from an FDA rejection, Telesta shed 15% of its staff. Story

Biotech

> Synergy Pharma ($SGYP) appointed Marino Garcia as chief strategy officer. Release

> XTL Biopharma ($XTLB) named Dr. Daphna Paran as medical director. Release

> Rigel ($RIGL) appointed Dr. Anne-Marie Duliege as chief medical officer. Release

> Therabron Therapeutics hired Dr. Alan Cohen as senior vice president and chief medical officer and Linda Chang as senior vice president and chief financial officer. Release

> Sutro Biopharma appointed Dr. Arturo Molina as chief medical officer and Mark Lupher as vice president of translational pharmacology and preclinical development. Release

> Medgenics hired Rick Couch as vice president of chemistry, manufacturing and controls. Release

> CohBar appointed Simon Allen as CEO. Release

> Kuros Biosciences appointed Dr. Virginia Jamieson as chief medical officer. Release

> Arrogene named Jack Kavanaugh as its chairman and executive chairman. Release

> CorMatrix hired Andrew Green as its president and COO. Release

> Peter Mitchell joined Cocoon Biotech as its chief scientific officer. Release

> Scholar Rock appointed Dr. Yung Chyung as its chief medical officer. Release

> Merck named Sanat Chattopadhyay the president of its manufacturing division, succeeding Willie Deese. Release

> Arbutus Biopharma appointed Elizabeth Howard as its executive vice president and general counsel. Release

> Immunome appointed Michael Morin as its president and chief scientific officer. Release

Pharma

> Dr. Richard Ghalie has joined MEI Pharma ($MEIP) as senior vice president of clinical operations. More

Med tech

> Jonathan Rennert, president of Zoll Medical's resuscitation business, will become CEO, as current CEO Richard Packer moves to a new role leading Zoll parent Asahi Kasei's Health Care Business Unit. A. Ernest Whiton, currently senior vice president of international operations, will replace Rennert as president of resuscitation business. Release

> Neural Analytics named Dr. Neil Martin as chief medical officer. Release