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.
James McArthur helms new Cydan biotech Imara
Imara
James McArthur was named CEO.
Cydan Development has launched its second rare-disease venture in Imara, which this week announced a $31 million financing round with backing from Pfizer and New Enterprise Associates. Cydan chief scientific officer and co-founder James McArthur will lead the operation, which is recruiting a small virtual crew to handle clinical development of a small-molecule sickle cell program purchased from Lundbeck. McArthur, who has experience in the areas of genetic disease, gene therapy, immunology, oncology and vascular biology, previously founded and was CSO of Synovex--later named Adheron--which was acquired by Roche ($RHHBY). He’ll lead Imara as it seeks to take IMR-687 from IND-enabling preclinical work to healthy volunteers later this year and to the first patients next year. Story
Bristol-Myers will expand its immuno-oncology hub and may hire up to 150 additional employees for its discovery team. Story
Biotech
> Timothy Brown joined Evolve BioSystems as its chief operating officer. Release
> VirMedica brought on Philip Lee as its president and CEO. Release
> Adaptive Biotech named Charles Sang as its senior vice president of diagnostics. Release
> Mike Kelly joined Adapt Pharma as its president of U.S. operations. Release
> Diamyd Medical appointed Ulf Hannelius as its new CEO. Release
> Charles Rowland joined Aurinia ($AUPH) as the company’s new CEO. Release
> Skyepharma appointed David Lescuyer as executive vice president of its oral business. Release
> NephroGenex terminated President and CEO Pierre Legault and Chief Scientific Officer Jaikrishna Patel. Release
> Millendo Therapeutics named Thomas Hoover as vice president of commercial strategy and Andrew Spencer as vice president of preclinical research and development. Release
> Vedanta Biosciences appointed Daniel Couto as senior vice president of process development and manufacturing. Release
> Gritstone Oncology named Karin Jooss as chief scientific officer. Release
> Elekta appointed Richard Hausmann as president and CEO. Release
> Lumos Pharma named Dr. David Weiner as chief medical officer. Release
> AMAG named Edward Myles its CFO. Release
> Kymab appointed Paul Kellam to lead its vaccines and infectious disease initiatives; Igor Thuerl to lead discovery of medicines for blood diseases; and Matthew McCourt to lead immuno-oncology. Release
CRO
> PPD hired Panteli Theocharous as vice president of global product development in the hematology/oncology therapeutic area. Release
Med Tech
> FIRE1 named Conor Hanley as president and CEO, John Britton as vice president of commercial operations and Fiachra Sweeney as senior director of engineering. Release
Diagnostics
> VolitionRx appointed Louise Day as chief marketing and communications officer. Release
> Glenn Magnuson joined Sequenom ($SQNM) as vice president of sales. Release
Vaccines
> Immunovaccine named Acting CEO and Chief Business Officer Frederic Ors as permanent CEO. Release
> The Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) added Dan Stinchcomb as senior vice president for vaccine development and viral disease programs. Release