Changing Faces: Boards of Directors and Advisory Boards, May 2026

Board-level appointments across biotech, biopharma, and industry organisations continued at pace over the period, with companies bringing in seasoned executives and governance experts to guide strategy, growth, and innovation.

From chair roles to new board and advisory appointments, the latest moves reflect a focus on experience in commercialisation, corporate governance, and therapeutic development.

New Chairs appointed at Exciva and Immunic. Exciva named Mark Altmeyer as Chair of the Board, drawing on his extensive experience across global biopharma. Since 2014, he had served on the boards of ten biopharmaceutical companies across the US, Europe, and Japan, including several high-growth biotech firms where he acted as chairperson. His appointment adds significant governance expertise to the German company, which is focused on addressing neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease dementia and other brain disorders.

Immunic also appointed a new Chair, bringing in Mike Bonney, who previously served as CEO of Cubist Pharmaceuticals for a decade. Earlier in his career at Biogen, he held senior commercial leadership roles and played a key role in the launch and expansion of Avonex, one of the first widely adopted therapies for relapsing multiple sclerosis. He joins the late-stage biotech as it advances oral therapies for neurological diseases.

Topadur Pharma expands Board with legal and commercial expertise. Topadur Pharma, Swiss clinical-stage company focused on regenerative therapies, strengthened its Board of Directors with two appointments:

• Dr Felix R. Ehrat joined the Board, bringing nearly four decades of experience in corporate law, M&A, governance, and capital markets. He previously served as group general counsel and a member of the executive committee at Novartis.
• Dr Peter Jager also joined, with a career spanning Sandoz, Novartis, and Sanofi. His senior international roles included country president positions in the Netherlands, Thailand, and South Korea, as well as global leadership positions in sales excellence and government relations at Novartis.

More Board appointments across biotech, advocacy, and consultancy. Several organisations added new directors to support governance and strategic growth:

• Crystal Fry-Vanuch, Fujifilm’s Government Affairs head with more than 20 years of biopharma experience, joined the Board of BIO, the global biotechnology advocacy organisation.
• At innovative genome-focused firm Constructive Bio, Jim Weissman was appointed to the Board, bringing experience as principal of JBW Consulting and as an independent director across multiple biotech companies, including Cerberus Therapeutics, EnPlusOne Biosciences, and Telesis Bio.
• Pancreatic cancer-focused PanTher Therapeutics added Tim Clackson to its Board. Clackson previously served as CEO of IDRx, which was acquired by GSK in 2025 for up to $1.15 billion, underscoring his experience in scaling biotech ventures.
• FarmaMondo Group appointed Natalie Douglas as an independent Board Director. Following a leadership career at Johnson & Johnson, she went on to build IDIS into an international specialty pharmaceutical organisation. Her experience in commercialisation and business-building adds depth to the consultancy’s Board.

Qureight announces SAB. Qureight established a new Scientific Advisory Board to guide development of its AI-driven platform for clinical trial design. The group comprises Dr Marc Humbert of the University Paris-Saclay, Steven Nathan of Virginia Commonwealth University, DrOksana Shlobin of Georgetown University and the University of Virginia, Dr Vincent Cottin of Claude Bernard University in Lyons, Dr Ardeschir Ghofrani of University Hospital Giessen and Marburg, Joanna Pepke-Zaba of the University of Cambridge, and Luke Howard of Imperial College London – all recognised leaders in pulmonary hypertension. Their collective expertise is expected to support the advancement of AI models aimed at accelerating clinical trials and therapeutic approvals.

That’s it for our boards 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.