Changing Faces: Board appointments, June and July 2026

Boardrooms and Advisory Groups were just as active as executive suites over June and July, with biotech, medtech, diagnostics, digital health, and non-profit organisations bringing in experienced chairs, directors, and scientific advisors to help guide strategy, governance, and growth.

The appointments brought together veterans from across the pharmaceutical industry, venture capital, healthcare technology, and academia.

Oryn Therapeutics expands board leadership. Oryn Therapeutics, the biotechnology company developing a novel class of engineered macrocyclic peptide therapeutics for inflammatory, autoimmune, and fibro-inflammatory diseases, strengthened both its board and executive oversight. The company appointed Paul Sekhri as executive chairman. Sekhri currently serves as chairman, president, and CEO of vTv Therapeutics and has held senior leadership positions at Novartis, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Sanofi, ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, and TPG Biotech. Also joining the board of directors was Nina Kjellson, a general partner at Canaan and an experienced biotech investor and company builder.

MRM Health adds chair and independent director. Clinical-stage biotech MRM Health, which develops live biotherapeutic products for immune-mediated diseases, made two key board appointments. Michel Detheux became Chairman. As founding CEO of iTeos Therapeutics, he guided the company from inception through crossover financing and a NASDAQ IPO, helping raise a total of $335 million in 2020. The company also welcomed Dr Hans-Jürgen Wörle as an independent director. Wörle previously served as global vice president of medicine at Boehringer Ingelheim, where he played a central role in the development and commercial success of diabetes medicines, including Jardiance and Trajenta.

Aplagon appoints Board Chair. Clinical-stage biotech Aplagon chose Carl Lindgren as Chair of its Board of Directors. Lindgren’s extensive commercial leadership experience derives from positions at AstraZeneca, Lundbeck, Karo Healthcare, and EQL Pharma. The company is developing its APAC platform, a first-in-class antiplatelet and anticoagulant approach targeting thrombo-inflammatory diseases.

Medicines Discovery Catapult names future Chair. The Medicines Discovery Catapult announced that Sir Mike Ferguson would take over as Chair of the Board from the beginning of 2027, succeeding Dr Robin Brown after nine years in the role. Ferguson comes in with an extensive combination of scientific and governance experience, including board-level roles with organisations such as Wellcome and UK Biobank. The Catapult supports the translation of drug discovery research into commercial opportunities.

UltraSight appoints experienced medtech Chair. Cardiac sonography technology company UltraSight selected Rick Geoffrion as Chair of the Board. Geoffrion spent decades helping scale cardiovascular device businesses and previously led the growth of the Impella platform prior to Johnson & Johnson's acquisition of Abiomed.

Broken String Biosciences strengthens governance. Cambridge genomics company Broken String Biosciences named Bruce Eaton Chair of the Board. Eaton can claim more than 30 years of biotech industry experience spanning business development, operations, and corporate strategy. Most recently, he served as chief technology officer and chief business officer at Editas Medicine. The company develops genomic analysis technologies to support cell and gene therapy development.

genedrive appoints new Board Chair. Diagnostics company genedrive, which develops rapid point-of-care pharmacogenetic tests to support safer prescribing in acute care settings, appointed Graham Cole as Chair of the Board. Cole has more than four decades of leadership, governance, and Board experience across international engineering, manufacturing, and technology businesses.

Cue Biopharma adds two directors. Boston-based clinical-stage biopharma company Cue Biopharma expanded its Board with two appointments. Former Athersys chief executive Daniel Camardo joined the Board of Directors, bringing extensive commercial experience, including work on multiple blockbuster product launches. Also joining was Viola Meehan, former chief financial officer of Vanqua Bio and a finance executive whose career has included positions with AbbVie and Abbott Laboratories.

Actimed Therapeutics recruits industry veteran. Actimed Therapeutics appointed Dr Anders Ullman to its Board of Directors. Ullman brings senior leadership experience from AstraZeneca, Bayer, Biovitrum, Nycomed, Takeda, Baxter, and Sobi, where he most recently served as head of research and development and chief medical officer. Actimed is developing therapies aimed at preserving muscle health in cancer cachexia, obesity, and other muscle-wasting disorders.

Entact Bio and PL BioScience make Board appointments. Massachusetts-based Entact Bio appointed John G. Houston to its Board of Directors. Houston is a veteran biopharma innovator who helped advance the first FDA-approved PROTAC medicine. The company is developing precision medicines based on protein function enhancement. Meanwhile, German life sciences company PL BioScience named Maik W. Jornitz to its Board of Directors. Jornitz, founder and principal consultant of BioProcess Resources LLC, is widely recognised for his expertise in biopharmaceutical processing. The company specialises in human platelet lysate production and development.

ViCentra and PrecisionLife add independent board members. Netherlands-based insulin pump developer ViCentra appointed Tom West as an independent board member. West most recently served as president, CEO, and director of Nalu Medical, leading the company through its $600 million acquisition by Boston Scientific earlier this year. AI-driven precision medicine company PrecisionLife recruited Dr Pradip Banerjee as an independent non-executive director. Banerjee boasts more than three decades of experience building and scaling life sciences and healthcare technology businesses, including leading the growth and eventual exit of Xybion Digital.

Inventus draws on tech talent. Clinical trial technology provider Inventus expanded its advisory expertise with two appointments. Jon French joined as a non-executive advisor, bringing more than 20 years of senior leadership experience across organisations including Microsoft and Samsung. He currently serves as managing director of Google's Android Global Business. The company also appointed Stacy Hurt as non-executive advisor. Hurt currently serves as chief patient officer at Parexel and has accumulated experience across GlaxoSmithKline, Transdermal Therapeutics, and the Colon Cancer Coalition, alongside more than a decade in patient advocacy.

Syntax Bio expands Board and Scientific Advisory Group. Synthetic biology company Syntax Bio added four experienced industry and academic figures. Joining the Board of Directors were:

• Doug Doerfler, founder and former leader of MaxCyte, with more than 40 years of leadership experience spanning cell engineering, advanced therapeutics, and biotechnology commercialisation.
• Pete Bodine, managing director at Allegis Capital, where he has spent nearly two decades investing in and advising early-stage technology companies.

The company also established Scientific Advisory Board appointments for:

• Melissa Carpenter, former chief scientific officer of regenerative medicine at ElevateBio and a veteran of ViaCyte, Geron, and StemCells Inc.
• Dr Everett Meyer, Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and director of its allogeneic stem cell transplantation programme.

Innovate UK ICURe appoints Advisory Board Chair. Innovate UK ICURe named Vikas Shah as Chair of its Advisory Board. An entrepreneur, investor, Honorary Professor at Alliance Manchester Business School, and non-executive director across multiple organisations, Shah will support the programme’s work helping researchers transform discoveries into spin-outs and commercial licensing opportunities.

Wellcome Genome Campus launches Science and Technology Advisory Group. The Wellcome Genome Campus established a new Science and Technology Advisory Group to support its mission as a centre for genomics, biodata, health data, and data science research. The group comprises:

• Dr Nicole Mather, Chair of the group and UKI and EMEA lead for life sciences at IBM Consulting.
• Dr Andy Richards CBE, entrepreneur and life sciences investor.
• Dr Avi Spier, executive director at Novartis with more than 20 years of corporate and business development experience.
• Professor Ewan Birney CBE FRS, director of EMBL-EBI and a leading computational biologist.
• Dr John Marioni, senior vice president and head of computation at Genentech Research and Early Development.
• Professor Matt Hurles FMedSci FRS, director of the Wellcome Sanger Institute.
• Dr Melanie Ivarsson OBE, CEO of the Health Data Research Service.
• Neelam Patel, strategy advisor and experienced non-executive director.
• Professor Rachel McKendry, executive director of discovery at Wellcome.

ELRIG strengthens Scientific Advisory Board. Drug discovery non-profit ELRIG added two prominent industry veterans to its Scientific Advisory Board. Dr Hitesh Sanganee, currently a venture partner at Octopus Ventures and an independent consultant supporting biotech and healthtech founders, joined the organisation. ELRIG also appointed Dr Marcus Schindler, who has spent three decades in increasingly senior drug discovery roles across organisations including Novo Nordisk, AstraZeneca, Prosidion, Boehringer Ingelheim, and GSK.

R1 Therapeutics establishes Scientific Advisory Board. Clinical-stage kidney disease specialist R1 Therapeutics announced the formation of a Scientific Advisory Board comprising prominent nephrology experts from leading research and healthcare institutions. The board includes:

• Dr Glenn M. Chertow, Chair of the Advisory Board and Professor of Medicine, Epidemiology, Population Health and Health Policy at Stanford University School of Medicine.
• Dr Geoffrey A. Block, associate chief medical officer and senior vice president of clinical research and medical affairs at U.S. Renal Care.
• Dr Barbara S. Gillespie, chief medical and strategy officer at the International Society of Glomerular Disease and adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina.
• Dr Markus Ketteler, Professor of Medicine and director of the Department of General Internal and Geriatric Medicine at Robert-Bosch-Hospital in Stuttgart.
• Dr Sharon M. Moe, Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research and director of nephrology and hypertension at Indiana University School of Medicine.
• Dr Smeeta Sinha, consultant nephrologist at Salford Royal Hospital and Honorary Professor at the University of Manchester.
• Dr Li Zuo, Professor of Internal Medicine and head of nephrology at Peking University People's Hospital in Beijing.

That’s it for our Advisory and Governance Board hires and this extra-long summer round-up. Remember, you can send your own hires to editorial@pharmaphorum.com for inclusion in this column.