Changing Faces: Board of Director and Advisory Board hires, August 2026

Boardrooms, Advisory Boards, and governance teams saw plenty of activity in August, with companies across biotech, diagnostics, digital health, and life sciences services bringing in seasoned executives, scientific leaders, and industry veterans to guide their next phase of growth.

From RNA pioneers and pharma CEOs to commercial strategists and academic experts, here are the latest board-level appointments from across the sector.

Mirai Bio taps serial biotech builder as Board Chair. Mirai Bio appointed Jeff Luber as Board Chair. A four-time CEO, Luber has helped build a number of life sciences companies, including Exact Sciences, Good Start Genetics, binx health, and Clairity. The Flagship Pioneering spin-out serves as an innovation delivery partner for organisations developing next-generation nucleic acid medicines.

Biocaptiva appoints growth-focused Chair. University of Edinburgh spin-out Biocaptiva selected Stephane Argivier as Chair. Argivier previously served as CEO of MIP Discovery, where he secured significant funding and repositioned the business towards higher-value markets. He later spent four years as a non-executive director of Logical Biological before stepping into the CEO role and helping lead the company's next stage of expansion. Biocaptiva develops technologies designed to extract cell-free DNA from blood for cancer liquid biopsy applications.

Brixton Bio assembles heavyweight board lineup. Boston-based pain therapeutics developer Brixton Bio strengthened its Board of Directors with three high-profile appointments.

• John Maraganore, the founding CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, led that company from its early RNAi research efforts through the approval and commercialisation of its first five RNAi medicines.
• The company also added Brent Saunders, current CEO of Bausch + Lomb, who brings more than two decades of executive leadership experience from major healthcare organisations.
• Rounding out the appointments was Elton Brand, a former National Basketball Association player who most recently served as general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers.

SmiLe Venture Hub expands board expertise. Swedish accelerator SmiLe Venture Hub added three new board members as it continued supporting life science and foodtech start-ups on the path from concept to commercialisation.

• Åsa Sjöholm Timén, currently director of business development at AstraZeneca, comes with nearly 30 years of life sciences experience, including two decades spent working across business development in big pharma, biotech start-ups, CROs, and consulting.
• Lisa Thelin, head of foresight at the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, adds expertise in innovation, competitiveness, and Sweden's broader innovation ecosystem.
• And some academic representation comes from Jonas Larsson, professor and deputy head of the Faculty of Medicine at Lund University, who brings deep knowledge of the research and innovation landscape within Swedish life sciences.

Healthtech and medtech companies make strategic board appointments. Two companies operating at the intersection of healthcare and technology added experienced industry leaders to their boards.

• Digital health company Reset Health appointed Dr Joanne Hackett to its Board of Directors. Currently vice president and global head of health system services at IQVIA, Hackett previously served as chief commercial officer at Genomics England, where she helped build commercial and industry partnerships around a major genomic medicine programme.
• Surgical therapeutics company Peptilogics added Tim Czartoski to its board. Most recently president of US Surgical and global R&D at Enovis, Czartoski also spent 22 years at DePuy Synthes, where he led the company's $5.4 billion US orthopaedics business across several product divisions.

Circio strengthens board with biotech veterans. Norwegian biotechnology company Circio, which is developing circular RNA expression technology for gene and cell therapy applications, appointed two experienced industry executives to its Board of Directors. Dr Dinah Sah was a founding member and chief scientific officer of Voyager Therapeutics, where she focused on developing AAV gene therapies for severe neurodegenerative diseases. And Dr Robert Burns, a former CEO of Affitech, Celldex, and 4-Antibody, takes on the full director role after previously serving as deputy director.

Redx adds investor and fibrosis expertise to board. UK clinical-stage biotech Redx Pharma expanded its board with two appointments tied closely to its fibrosis focus: Andrew Sinclair joined as investor director representing Abingworth, while Dr Bernard Coulie, current CEO of Pliant Therapeutics, brings clinical expertise as a gastroenterologist and substantial experience in the development of anti-fibrotic therapies. Redx is developing targeted small-molecule medicines for fibrotic disease.

genedrive recruits finance and medtech leaders. Pharmacogenetic testing company genedrive strengthened its board with two appointments spanning finance and healthcare technology. Mark Winkler, founder and CEO of Red Earth Advisors, joined the board, as did Mike Fairbourn, who spent almost 20 years at Becton Dickinson, including as vice president and general manager for the UK and Ireland. genedrive develops rapid point-of-care diagnostic tests intended to support safer prescribing decisions in emergency and acute care settings.

Ignota Labs builds Scientific Advisory Board. AI-powered biotech Ignota Labs expanded the leadership of its Scientific Advisory Board as it continued its mission of rescuing promising but abandoned drug candidates.

• Dr Melanie Lee was appointed chair of the Scientific Advisory Board. Lee currently serves as a non-executive director and chair of the R&D committee at Portuguese pharmaceutical company Bial.
• Joining the Advisory Board alongside her was Dr Peter Newham, a drug safety scientist with more than 30 years of pharmaceutical R&D experience at AstraZeneca.
• Ignota also recruited Dr Angeliki Kotsianti, who spent two decades at Pfizer in senior medical and safety leadership roles focused on clinical development and benefit-risk assessment.

OncoOne expands scientific advisory firepower. Vienna-based OncoOne, which is developing precision medicines for cancer and autoimmune diseases, assembled a trio of experts for its own Scientific Advisory Board.

• Dr Danielle Meyrick boasts more than 20 years of experience in radiopharmaceutical development, clinical strategy, and translational medicine, gained through roles at organisations including ITM, Telix, and AdvanCell.
• Dr Hakim Bouterfa, a life sciences entrepreneur and executive, brings 25 years of international experience across oncology, radiopharmaceuticals, clinical development, and medical affairs, including with Novartis.
• Dr Michael Freissmuth is former director of the Center of Physiology & Pharmacology and chairman of the Institute of Pharmacology at the Medical University of Vienna.

That’s it for our board and advisory appointments round-up and that wraps up August. Remember, you can send your own hires to editorial@pharmaphorum.com for inclusion in this column.