Changing Faces: Digital and supplier hires, September 2026

September brought leadership changes across the businesses providing technology, research, manufacturing, and professional services to the life sciences industry.

New CEOs arrived at Nuclera, Revalia Bio, and Cellply, while suppliers and CDMOs strengthened their commercial ranks and life sciences law firms added senior expertise.

Nuclera taps Thermo Fisher executive for the top job. Cambridge, UK-based Nuclera appointed Carl Raimond as CEO as the company continued to develop its platform for rapid protein expression and purification. Raimond joined from Thermo Fisher Scientific, where he served as president of proteomic sciences following its acquisition of Olink Proteomics. Raimond succeeds Dr Michael Chen, who moves into the role of chief scientific and business officer.

Revalia Bio brings AI experience from Lilly into the C-suite. Techbio company Revalia Bio named Casimir Starsiak III president and CEO. Starsiak joins from Eli Lilly, where he led enterprise AI and research software product management, following six years at Verily. Revalia Bio generates novel drug development data using functioning donated human organs. As part of the leadership changes, co-founder Greg Tietjen moved into the chief innovation officer role.

Cellply recruits leader from Cambridge biotech scene. Bologna-based functional cell analysis specialist Cellply selected Dr Alex Jones as CEO. Jones most recently led Cambridge cell-sorting company Cellular Highways until its acquisition by STEMCELL Technologies in 2025, and had previously served as chief commercial officer at Nanolive and led EMEA commercial expansion at Essen BioScience. Jones succeeds Alessia Zanelli, who will continue to serve as Cellply’s president.

Bend Bioscience expands its financial and operational leadership. Florida-based CDMO Bend Bioscience added two executives as it supports partners across the full drug development and manufacturing lifecycle. Sandeep Patel became chief financial officer, bringing more than 20 years of experience encompassing investment banking and CFO leadership across healthcare, pharmaceutical services, and manufacturing. The CDMO also appointed Pavlos Pavlidis as president. Pavlidis most recently served as president and chief operating officer at Medix Infusion, following senior leadership roles at McKesson, AppianRx, UnitedHealth Group, and Biogen.

Germfree doubles down on commercial and financial leadership. Germfree, which provides modular and mobile CGMP cleanrooms, integrated equipment, and lifecycle services for advanced therapy development and point-of-care manufacturing, made two senior appointments. Joining as chief commercial officer is Geoffrey Schwartz, most recently CEO and general manager of Mirus Bio. Schwartz previously served as Mirus Bio’s chief commercial officer, including through its acquisition by MilliporeSigma. Meanwhile, Adam Simon became Germfree’s chief financial officer. Simon joined after serving as senior vice president of finance at regenerative medicine company StimLabs, following approximately 15 years at PwC.

Codis recruits a CDMO industry veteran to drive commercial strategy. Global CDMO Codis appointed Steven Facer as chief commercial officer. Specialising in spray drying, amorphous solid dispersions, and advanced particle engineering, the company gained an executive whose career had included senior roles at Thermo Fisher Scientific, ACG Worldwide, Capsugel, Catalent, and Colorcon.

Facer most recently worked at Adare Pharma Solutions.

FibroFind adds clinical expertise to its human-focused research model. Preclinical CRO FibroFind named Andrew Fisher chief medical officer. Specialising in human-relevant drug testing, the company added more than 20 years of experience as an NHS consultant physician, alongside Fisher’s expertise in transplantation medicine, advanced lung disease, and translational research.

Legal moves span IP, medical cannabis, and biotech transactions. The month also saw three law firms bolster their life sciences expertise, while pharmaceutical shipping specialist CSafe strengthened its own legal leadership.

• European intellectual property law firm Carpmaels & Ransford made Christopher Stothers a partner. Stothers was named among Managing IP’s ‘50 most influential people in IP’ in 2024, in part for involvement in a landmark transparency case that secured greater public access to UPC documents.
• Fieldfisher appointed Franziska Katterbach as a partner. Katterbach is one of Germany’s leading advisers on regulatory matters relating to medical cannabis.
• Global law firm Freshfields added Andrea Devoe as a partner. Devoe joined from Flagship Pioneering, where, as head of strategic transactions, she advised the venture firm and its portfolio companies.
• Temperature-controlled pharmaceutical shipping specialist CSafe named Will Romanowicz chief legal officer. Romanowicz most recently worked in a dual legal and commercial role, leading a cross-functional team covering legal affairs, government affairs, and external communications.

From digital pharmacy to drug manufacturing, commercial teams get a boost. Four more life sciences suppliers strengthened their business development and commercial operations during September.

• London-based digital consultation platform Nuumad appointed Vinay Patel as commercial and partnership director. Patel joined from Avicenna, where, as head of membership services, he supported independent pharmacies in strengthening their businesses and expanding their clinical service offerings.
• Stirling, UK-based specialist sterile GMP manufacturer Symbiosis Pharmaceutical Services brought in Jos Vergeest as senior business development director. Vergeest boasts three decades of pharmaceutical experience, including roles at GSK and AstraZeneca and extensive CDMO business development experience across Europe and Asia.
• Tokyo-based global supply chain and logistics company Yusen Logistics named Gilbert den Bekker chief commercial officer for Europe. Den Bekker brings more than 30 years of international logistics experience, including senior commercial leadership positions at country, regional, and global levels.
• North Carolina-headquartered CDMO Alcami recruited Will Isom as VP of laboratory services sales. Isom most recently led Texcell’s global commercial organisation, overseeing commercial strategy for advanced therapy programmes.

That’s it for our September digital and supplier hires, 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.

This round-up is prepared by a human editor with assistance from AI.