Welcome to this week's Chutes & Ladders, our roundup of significant leadership hirings, firings and retirings across the industry. Please send the good word—or the bad—from your shop to Darren Incorvaia, Zoey Becker, or Will Maddox and it will be featured here at the end of each week.
Cue lines up new CMO and research head
Cue Biopharma
Cue Biopharma is tapping in a new chief medical officer and head of R&D in Dominic Borie, M.D., Ph.D., a physician-scientist with over two decades of industry experience. Borie hops over to Cue from Kyverna Therapeutics, where he most recently served as a strategic advisor after pivoting from his previous titles of president, R&D and founding CEO. Before that, the executive held leadership roles at Amgen and Genentech, as well as a stint at Horizon Therapeutics.
"The combination of a differentiated pipeline, a talented and mission-driven team, a solid financial foundation and the opportunity to bring meaningful new therapies to patients with allergic and autoimmune diseases is incredibly compelling,” Borie said.
Cue is eying phase 2 data for its dual-mechanism anti-IgE monoclonal antibody program CUE-221 by the end of 2026’s third quarter, while it also readies phase 1 initiation for its other autoimmune asset CUE-401. Borie’s “deep expertise in immunology and proven leadership across biotechnology and global pharmaceutical organizations will be invaluable as we advance our portfolio of potential new and transformative therapies,” Cue CEO Shao-Lee Lin, M.D., Ph.D., said. Release
ProFound picks Little as new COO
ProFound Therapeutics
Fierce 15 2024 honoree ProFound Therapeutics, the Boston-based “proteomic dark matter” company, announced the appointment of Ainslie Little, Ph.D., as the new chief operating officer. She is to replace Kala Subramaniam, Ph.D., who spent nearly five years with the company. Little blends two decades of experience in scientific innovation with leadership positions that she held at biotechs such as Latus Bio and BlueRock Therapeutics, the latter of which she helped scale up toward its eventual acquisition by Bayer. Little said that she “was drawn to the chance to build the operational engine that propels that science more quickly into real medicines for the benefit of patients worldwide.” ProFound was founded by Flagship Pioneering in 2020 and launched with $75 million two years later. Release
Elevara elects former IO chief as new leader
Elevara Medicines
Though it only emerged last fall, British biotech Elevara has already found a new leader to guide the hurried clinical development of its lead rheumatoid arthritis candidate. Founding CEO Emma Tinsley will step down July 1 to be replaced by Mai-Britt Zocca, Ph.D. Zocca formerly founded and led IO Biotech for more than a decade, until the Danish oncology outfit closed its doors earlier this year after being turned away by the FDA. Zocca has “successfully built organizations through exactly the stage Elevara is now entering,” Tinsley said. The startup’s phase 2b trial of ELV001, an oral CDK4/6 inhibitor, kicked off in March. Release
> With MBX Biosciences’ co-founder and CEO Kent Hawryluk stepping down from the company and its board, effective immediately, executive board chairman Steve Hoerter is stepping in to take the CEO reins. Release
> Illuminare Biotechnologies is tapping industry vet Brian Longstreet to carry the torch through its upcoming late-stage development as CEO, with former chief Walter Greenblatt pivoting to the chief financial officer role. Release
> Merck veteran Jeffrey Silber, M.D., will take over as GI and rare-disease-focused Ironwood’s CMO and head of research and drug development, since the retirement of Michael Shetzline, M.D., Ph.D. Release
> Thomas McCauley, Ph.D., is stoked to join RNA-focused Stoke Therapeutics as chief scientific officer, saying he is “impressed and energized” by the progress the company has made with its lead candidate for Dravet Syndrome. Release
> Drug delivery specialist Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals has named Jeff Millard, Ph.D., to be its new executive vice president of technical operations. He will be joined by Alex Therien, Ph.D., who will lead research and development as another executive vice president. Release
> Biohaven has announced that David Pirman, Ph.D., has been promoted to executive vice president and head of discovery. Bruce Car, Ph.D., is retiring as chief scientific officer and moving to a part-time role as chief innovation officer focusing on external collaborations. Release
> Retinal disease biotech EyePoint has made Tarek Hassan, M.D., its senior vice president and chief strategic science officer to help guide the company’s lead eye disease candidate, Duravyu. Release
> Long-acting obesity drug company Prolynx has appointed Simon Harnest as chief financial officer while making Amer Mirza, Ph.D., its chief scientific officer as it advances its obesity portfolio. Release