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 Fraiser Kansteiner, and we will feature it here at the end of each week.
GSK Vaccine R&D chief jumps ship to Viome amid COVID-19 vaccine setbacks
Viome
Emmanuel Hanon, Ph.D., will explore the microbiome as global head of R&D.
GSK’s vaccines research chief is taking flight after a year of pandemic setbacks. GlaxoSmithKline started out a sure bet in the race to develop a COVID-19 shot, but a series of clinical misfires prompted the vaccine giant to offer up its proprietary adjuvant instead. Another vaccine effort with Sanofi is ongoing, but the partners have fallen behind in the global push to produce as many shots as possible. Now, after 20 years at the company, Hanon is jumping ship to little-known Viome, which is examining the microbiome to predict and prevent chronic diseases. As Viome’s new R&D chief, Hanon will lead the company’s therapeutic programs to identify host/microbial interactions—something it will accomplish using its gene-expression database. Hanon starts on July 1, though he’s already signed on with Viome’s science advisory board. Fierce Biotech
Eli Lilly, riding pharma's rising digital wave, drafts Apple exec to replace Shah as CDO
Eli Lilly
Diogo Rau comes on board as CDO.
With Aarti Shah, Ph.D., due to retire, Lilly becomes the latest pharma to tap a consumer exec to lead its digital strategies. Rau, who will take over as chief digital and information officer in mid-May, hails from Apple, where most recently headed information technology for the tech giant's online and retail stores. Before that, Rau led IT organization and governance at McKinsey & Co. for North America, served at A.T. Kearney, and started his own online rewards software company. Lilly isn't the first to tap a consumer exec for its digital lead. Sanofi chief digital officer Arnaud Robert joined last year from Viking Cruises, where he held the same role. Robert had previously worked at Disney and Nike, too. GlaxoSmithKline in 2017 recruited Karenann Terrell as chief digital and technology officer from Walmart, where she was chief information officer. Before that, she had stints at Daimler Chrysler and General Motors. And those are just a few recent examples. Fierce Pharma
Bhargava leaves Gilead to take up post at biotech investor MPM
Gilead Sciences
Pankaj Bhargava, M.D., is departing for pastures new.
Biotech investor MPM has named Bhargava executive partner. He comes over from Gilead Sciences, where he served as vice president and head of oncology. Bhargava joined the company back in 2018 and helped lay the groundwork for Gilead’s cancer expansion. MPM will task Bhargava with supporting its relationships with key pharma partners. He'll also be in charge of supporting its collaboration with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. MPM and Dana-Farber last year formed a venture philanthropy alliance, raising a $100 million fund and $26 million in donations to support early-stage research. Fierce Biotech
> ROME Therapeutics has drafted Menachem Fromer, Ph.D., as its new head of data science. He comes on board from Verily Life Sciences—formerly Google Life Sciences—where he led data science and R&D for COVID-19 population and mental health. ROME will tap Fromer’s genetics background and computational biology know-how on its mission to develop novel therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases—something it aims to accomplish by leveraging repeatome, vast stretches of uncharted genetic material.
> Fungal disease-focused biopharma F2G has signed on Francesco Maria Lavino as its new CEO. He’ll pick up the baton from current chief executive Ian Nicholson, who’s stepping down after eight years to pursue non-executive roles, F2G said. Nicholson will also be on deck to help smooth the CEO switch. Lavino joins the team from Nabriva Therapeutics, where he was chief commercial officer. Before that, he spent nearly 15 years at Cubist Pharmaceuticals and Merck, where he served as AVP, global brand leader for the company’s anti-infectives portfolio. Release
> CDMO Woodstock Sterile Solutions has found its first chief commercial officer in Bill Hartzel, who’s taken up the post immediately. Hartzel will oversee commercial work and strategy at the blow-fill-seal specialist, including sales, marketing and commercial operations teams. He’ll also take the lead on contracting for the company. Hartzel has worked for Woodstock and the blow-fill-seal business of its predecessor, Catalent, for more than a decade. Most recently, he served as global vice president of business development for analytical, respiratory and ophthalmics. Release
> Atriva Therapeutics, leading the charge on the development of host-targeting antivirals, welcomed Olaf Althaus as chief financial officer in May 2020, while Stephan Stenglein, M.D., came on board as chief medical officer in February of this year. Industry veteran Althaus was the co-founder, CEO and CFO at CellMed for a dozen years and also served as managing director at AEterna Zentaris. Stenglein joins from AstraZeneca, where he was VP and head of late-stage development for the pharma’s respiratory business. Release
> Gene therapy company AavantiBio announced a double addition to its leadership suite. Paul Herzich signs on as chief technology officer, and Jared Simons joins as vice president of manufacturing. AavantiBio says it will call on Simons’ and Herzich’s considerable adeno-associated virus production experience as the company revs up its gene therapy pipeline. Herzich comes on board from gene therapy compatriot BridgeBio, where he served as vice president of chemistry, manufacturing and controls. Simons was previously the senior director at Amicus Therapeutics, where he oversaw a portfolio of small molecules, biologics and gene therapies. Release
> Albireo, working on bile acid modulators to treat rare liver diseases, has enlisted Joan Connolly as chief technology officer and a member of the Albireo Enterprise team. Connolly will take charge of drug substance and product development, clinical supply distribution and commercial supply chain and quality. Most recently, Connolly was senior vice president of technical operations at Stemline Therapeutics. She held senior roles at ImClone Systems and Bristol Myers Squibb before that. Release
> Cell therapy firm Kyverna Therapeutics has tapped James Chung, M.D., to fill the role of chief medical officer. Kyverna says Chung will play a key part in its clinical-stage pivot. He joins after a 16-year-plus stint at Amgen, where he wore a number of hats, including executive medical director, head of inflammation and neuroscience, global medical organization and global development leader for Enbrel. Release
> Enveric Biosciences signed a new chief financial officer. Carter Ward, previously the CFO at specialty drugmaker Elite Pharmaceuticals, will take over from John Van Buiten on May 15. Van Buiten is expected to hang around in a consulting role with the company, and will help smooth Ward’s transition into the role. Florida-based Enveric is developing cannabinoid medicines meant to improve quality of life for cancer patients. Release
> Clinical-stage precision oncology firm Rain Therapeutics has added Simon Powell, M.D., Ph.D., to its scientific advisory board. Powell is the Enid A. Haupt professor and chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Powell, whose interests run the gamut from DNA repair and breast cancer to cancer-specific defects in DNA repair and the DNA damage response pathway, is also a member of the molecular biology program of the Sloan-Kettering Institute and Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences. Release
> Lykan Bioscience has welcomed a new chief technology officer to the pack. Kenneth LeClair joins from TScan Therapeutics and Editas Medicine, where he was vice president of technical development and manufacturing. He had an 8-year run at Novartis before that, where he helped transition biological research candidates into clinical development. At Lykan, LeClair will run the company’s manufacturing science and technology and process development teams. Release
> Boston’s Yumanity Therapeutics, developing disease-modifying therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, has named Ajay Verma, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president, head of research and development. He comes on board with more than 25 years’ experience developing neuroscience-focused biotherapeutics. Prior to his tie-up with Yumanity, Verma was the executive vice president of research and experimental medicine at Codiak Biosciences. He worked on vaccines for neurological disorders as the chief medical officer at United Neuroscience before that, and previously held roles at Biogen, Merck and Novartis. Release
> Codagenix has drafted biotech veteran Linda Maldonado as vice president of biologics chemistry and manufacturing controls. She joins as the vaccine and oncolytic virus-focused company pushes an intranasal COVID-19 vaccine through the clinic. Before Codagenix, Maldonado was senior director of GMP manufacturing, downstream and fill finish for Catalent Cell and Gene Therapy. She served at a range of manufacturers before that, including Human Genome Sciences, Baxter Bioscience and Sanofi Pasteur. Release
> Clinical research organization LINK Medical is beefing up its presence in Germany. The Northern Europe-based firm has added German-based medical device director, Erwin de Buijzer, M.D., M.B.A., to the team. He’ll help build out the CRO’s medical device offerings there, with an emphasis on digital health. “LINK Medical’s continued growth beyond the Nordics, including the addition of Erwin to our team, will help us support our customers in Germany and beyond as they bring their medical device to market,” Uwe Anzenberger, general manager at LINK Medical Germany, said in a release. Release
> HotSpot Therapeutics has tapped industry leader Timothy Reilly, Ph.D., as chief development officer. At HotSpot, Reilly will lead the biotech’s early drug development strategy as it pushes its pipeline toward the clinic. Reilly joins after an 18-year run at pharma major Bristol Myers Squibb. Most recently, he served as senior vice president of early development program leadership, where he oversaw the company’s entire early development portfolio. Release
> Wugen, advancing a pipeline of off-the-shelf cell therapies, passed the reins to new CEO Daniel Kemp, Ph.D.. He’s taking over for founding chief executive John McKearn, who will stick around at the company as board chairman. He signs on from Takeda, where he was a formative member of the company’s oncology cell therapy leadership team. Release
> SAB Biotherapeutics welcomed Kipp Erickson, Ph.D., as chief operating officer. Erickson’s career spans executive and operational leadership roles in therapeutics development, translational medicine, product innovation, commercia development and more. He honed his human drug discovery, safety and development skills at companies like Pharmacia, Proctor and Gamble Pharmaceuticals, and Pfizer, as well as drug discovery and product development in animal health at Pfizer, Zoetis and Intrexon. Release
> Ocugen, working on gene therapies to cure blindness diseases—and, more recently, a COVID-19 vaccine—named John Paul Gabriel senior vice president of manufacturing and supply chain. Gabriel’s résumé covers leadership posts at major players Sanofi Pasteur, Pfizer Vaccines, Roche’s Genentech and, most recently, Ultragenyx Pharmaceuticals, where he was VP of biologics and mRNA manufacturing. The company is co-developing Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin for the U.S. market. Release
> ImCheck Therapeutics has called upon Loui Madakamutil, Ph.D., to fill the role of chief scientific officer. Madakamutil boasts more than 20 years’ experience in immunotherapy development. Over the course of his career, he’s held senior research and development roles at pharma majors like Nektar Therapeutics, Janssen, Takeda and Celgene. He signs on from Invivoscribe therapeutics, where he was co-founder and chief scientific officer. Release
> Clinical-stage cancer biotech Catapult Therapeutics has tapped Dominik Höchli to succeed the company’s current CEO Wim Mol, who’s set to retire on May 1. Up first for Höchli is to advance Catapult’s lead product, CAP-100, a first-in-class humanized anti-CCR7 antibody designed to treat blood cancers. Most recently, he served as VP, head of global medical affairs at AbbVie. Release