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 Kyle Blankenship, and we will feature it here at the end of each week.
BMS oncology chief Namouni lands at Blueprint Medicines to lead R&D
Blueprint Medicines
Fouad Namouni, M.D., comes on board as president of R&D.
Namouni arrives after a 20-year career at the Big Pharma, which included leading the teams behind immuno-oncology stars Opdivo and Yervoy. As president of research and development, Namouni will oversee the whole drug development cycle, from discovery through approval. Chief Scientific Officer Marion Dorsch, Ph.D., and Chief Medical Officer Andy Boral, M.D., will continue to lead research and clinical development, respectively, within the newly combined organization. Fierce Biotech
Nocion grabs new CMO as it kicks off COVID-19 cough study
Nocion Therapeutics
Christopher Silber, M.D., joins as chief medical officer.
Silber arrives as the company pushes its first program into the clinic: an inhaled treatment for chronic and acute cough that could come in handy against COVID-19. The company had been working on treatments for cough and itch when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. It realized that curbing coughs could help in multiple ways—not only would it address a symptom that can be “traumatic and debilitating,” but it can also reduce the spread of the disease between patients and hospital staff, family or housemates. Fierce Biotech
Magenta nabs AbbVie alum as new CSO while COO steps down
Magenta Therapeutics
AbbVie vet Lisa Olson, Ph.D., will take over as CSO.
Olson, who will fill the role left behind by Michael Cooke, held various leadership roles at AbbVie’s bioresearch center, shepherding 15 molecules into the clinic including rheumatoid arthritis med Rinvoq. Along with its new chief scientist, Magenta also hired Kevin Johnson, Ph.D., to lead its regulatory and quality unit. Johnson previously held similar roles at rare disease companies that spun out of Cydan: Imara, a sickle cell disease-focused biotech, and Vtesse, which worked on treatments for a form of Niemann-Pick disease. Fierce Biotech
> Nimbus Therapeutics is making Scott Edmondson, Ph.D., its new senior vice president and head of chemistry. Edmondson comes from being director and head of Boston oncology chemistry at AstraZeneca, where he oversaw recruiting, management and strategic direction for a team of more than 30 chemists. Before this, he spent a mammoth 18 years over at U.S. Big Pharma Merck. Fierce Biotech
> Intercept unveiled plans to trim 25% of its headcount, or about 170 jobs, after a surprise rejection from the FDA derailed its plans to launch the first nonalcoholic steatohepatitis drug. The company will take an $18 million charge in connection with the downsizing for severance pay and other termination costs. Fierce Pharma
> Immunicum AB has named Sven Rohmann, M.D., Ph.D., as CEO. Rohmann was most recently acting CEO for Oasmia Pharmaceutical and previously served as founding CEO at Ganymed Pharmaceuticals. Release
> Australian biotech Recce Pharmaceuticals has tapped James Graham as CEO. Release
> Dutch biotech Amarna Therapeutics has named Steen Klysner, Ph.D., as its new CEO. Founder and CEO Ben van Leent will become a member of Amarna’s supervisory board. Release
> The National Pharmaceutical Council has appointed Robert Dubois, M.D., Ph.D., as its interim president and CEO. The NPC board will conduct a national search for a permanent replacement for Dan Leonard, who stepped down as president and CEO after more than 12 years of service. Release
> Seattle-based Sana Biotechnology has tapped Ed Rebar, Ph.D., as chief technology officer; and Terry Fry, M.D., as senior VP and head of T-cell therapeutics. Release
> San Diego-based Acadia Pharmaceuticals has appointed Gudarz Davar, M.D., as executive VP and head of R&D. Davar most recently served as VP and head of global neurology clinical development at Eli Lilly. Release
> Michael Su, Ph.D., has been named Volastra Therapeutics’ new CSO. Su co-founded Agios alongside Volastra co-founder Lewis Cantley, Ph.D. Su joins from from Decibel Therapeutics, where he served as CSO.
> Ultragenyx has named Mardi C. Dier as executive VP and CFO, and Ernie Meyer as executive VP and chief human resources officer. Release
> Saniona has expanded its C-suite with the appointments of Jason A. Amello as CFO, Trista Morrison as chief communications officer and Linea Aspesi as chief human resources officer. Release (PDF)
> San Diego-based Bionano Genomics has tapped Christopher Stewart as chief financial officer. Stewart most recently served as Tesla's head of the Maxwell Ultracapacitors business unit. Release
> Menlo Park, California-based Akoya Biosciences has appointed Niro Ramachandran, Ph.D., as chief business officer; and Gavin Gordon, Ph.D., as VP of clinical market development. Release
> Acepodia has named Mark J. Gilbert, M.D., as senior VP of R&D; and Joseph S. McCracken as senior VP of business development. Release
> Ovid Health has hired Rachel Gonzaga, a former global communications director for GlaxoSmithKline, as an associate director. At GSK, Gonzaga led global communications for the inhaled respiratory medicines team.