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.
Kenneth Bloom named president at Human Longevity
Human Longevity, Inc.
Dr. Kenneth Bloom was named president.
On Wednesday, Genomics outfit Human Longevity, Inc. (HLI) named Dr. Kenneth Bloom president--a position in which he'll report to founder and CEO J. Craig Venter--following a $220 million Series B round it announced a day earlier. Bloom previously joined HLI to manage oncology products and lab operations, areas that he'll continue to run. He has more than 30 years of clinical and business experience, having joined HLI from GE Healthcare. In a separate promotion this week, HLI named Ashley Van Zeeland its chief technology officer; she joined HLI after its purchase of Cypher Genomics. Release
Sorrento selects Kevin Herde to be CFO
Sorrento Therapeutics
Kevin Herde was named CFO.
Kevin Herde has joined San Diego's Sorrento Therapeutics ($SRNE) as CFO, bringing 20 years of experience in finance, accounting and management. He most recently served as VP of global blood screening and alliance management for Hologic, having joined that company in 2012 following Hologic's purchase of Gen-Probe for $3.7 billion. Herde was "instrumental" in negotiating that deal, according to a release; he joined Gen-Probe in 2002 and assisted with its IPO. Prior to Gen-Probe, he worked in management roles at Gateway and KPMG. Sorrento, focusing on treatments for cancer, inflammation and autoimmune diseases, boasts lead products in biosims as well as anticancer CAR-T therapies. Release
Heat Biologics slashed its staff by a fifth. Story
Biotech
> Dr. James Hart joins Carmell Therapeutics as chief medical officer. Release
> Tris Pharma appointed Sharon Clarke as chief commercial officer. Release
> Dr. John Lee joined PhaseBio as chief medical officer and John Sharp joined as chief financial officer. Release
> Eisai's U.S. subsidiary appointed Paul Hawthorne as senior vice president, U.S. commercial, neurology business group. Release
> Lupin named Kurt Nielsen as president of Lupin-Somerset. Release
> Warp Drive Bio appointed Alan Rigby as chief scientific officer. Release
> Remedy Pharmaceuticals appointed Dr. Thomas Zimmerman as its vice president of medical affairs. Release
> Centene brought on Mark Brooks as its chief information officer. Release
> Douglas Sheehy joined Aimmune Therapeutics as general counsel and secretary. Release
> InCarda named Dr. Luiz Belardinelli as its chief medical officer. Release
> BioLife Solutions named Karen Foster as vice president of operations. Release
> Innophos Holdings appointed Han Kieftenbeld as its chief financial officer. Release
> Athenex added Dr. David Cutler to its global clinical development team. Release
> AngioDynamics named James Clemmer, formerly of Covidien, as its new CEO. Release
> Tiziana Life Sciences appointed Tiziano Lazzaretti as its chief financial officer. Release
> Moderna appointed Dr. Michael Watson as president of Valera Pharmaceuticals. Release
> Anika Therapeutics named Dr. Stephen Mascioli its chief medical officer, Dana Alexander its COO and Jean Bjerke as VP of marketing. Release
> Adherium selected John Tarplee to lead its Europe expansion. Release
Pharma
> Astellas named Bob Chib as executive director of corporate strategy, planning and initiative management and delivery and Cassie Hogenkamp as executive director of commercial strategy and innovation. Joseph Fleishaker is now vice president of clinical pharmacology and exploratory development. Release | Release
Med Tech
> TranS1 named Brandon Arthurs as vice president of research and development. Release
Diagnostics
> Good Start Genetics named Jeffrey Luber as CEO. Release