Changing Faces

In the world of pharma-adjacent industries like research and manufacturing, the news in July was thick and fast with five different CEO announcements along with a handful of other high-profile appointments. Check out the full round-up below.

Abzena appoints long-time Chairman as CEO. Abzena, a San Diego-based CDMO and CRO specialising in bioconjugates and complex biologics, has named Geoffrey M. Glass as its new CEO. Glass, who has served as Chairman of the Board since 2022, brings more than 30 years of life sciences experience, including senior roles at EY Consulting, Bausch Health, Patheon (Thermo Fisher), and others.

Champions Oncology makes CEO change after eight years. Another CRO, New Jersey’s Champions Oncology, tapped Rob Brainin as its new leader. Brainin previously served as chief business officer at Veracyte and succeeds Dr Ronnie Morris, who has led the company since 2017 and now transitions to the role of Executive Chairman. The leadership change will support Champions’ continued growth in preclinical and clinical oncology services.

Vivid Dx brings in diagnostics veteran to lead. John Sperzel has joined Vivid Dx as CEO and Board Member. An Oxford University spinout focused on next-generation pathogen detection and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) testing, Vivid Dx gains a leader with deep diagnostics expertise: Sperzel previously served as Chairman and CEO of T2 Biosystems and held top roles at Chembio Diagnostics, Accriva Diagnostics (Werfen), Axis-Shield (Alere), Bayer Diagnostics (Siemens), and Boehringer Mannheim Diagnostics (Roche).

New Group CEO takes helm at ACG. ACG Engineering, an integrated pharmaceutical solutions and manufacturing company based in Pune, India, welcomes Nikhil Kulkarni as Group CEO. Kulkarni transitions into healthcare from a successful leadership career in the automotive industry, bringing a fresh perspective to the CDMO space.

Pharmathen names new Group CEO. Pharmathen, a Greek developer of drug delivery technologies, also has a new group CEO in John Nason. With 30 years of experience across Teva, BMS, Novartis, and Sandoz, Nason succeeds Dimitris Kadis in a transition described as a “mutual decision after thoughtful discussions.” Pharmathen, which partners with pharma companies through licensing, contract manufacturing, and life cycle management, is expected to benefit from Nason’s extensive global leadership experience.

Lab testing giant expands R&D leadership. Quest Diagnostics has tapped Thomas Koch as its new SVP of research and development. Koch previously led R&D for Point of Care at Siemens Healthineers and held various senior management roles over two decades at Roche Diagnostics. His appointment underscores Quest’s commitment to innovation in diagnostics and lab testing, as it continues to expand its capabilities from its base in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Phastar adds strategic consulting expertise. Phastar, a UK- and US-based CRO, welcomed Billy Amzal as its new head of strategic consulting. Amzal previously served as SVP at Certara and was also CEO of Quinten Health, an AI-driven health analytics company. He will continue to collaborate with Quinten Health on strategic initiatives, bringing a data-driven approach to Phastar’s consulting services.

Mobius Medical expands clinical operations in ANZ. In other CRO news, Samantha Flynn has joined Mobius Medical as head of clinical operations for Australia and New Zealand. Flynn brings 15 years of experience from ICON plc and will support Mobius’s complex device and pharmaceutical trials across ANZ and the United States.

AI clinical trial firm makes tech hire. Kwame Marfo has joined Unlearn, a San Francisco-based firm using AI-powered digital twins to optimise clinical trials, as vice president of product. Marfo previously served as senior director of product strategy and incubation at Komodo Health, a tech company focused on building large, high-quality useable healthcare datasets. At Unlearn, Marfo will lead product development efforts aimed at transforming trial design and execution.

That’s it for our digital and supplier hires for July, but stay tuned for our other hires round-ups and remember, you can send your own hires to editorial@pharmaphorum.com for inclusion in this column.