Changing Faces – Board of Directors and Advisory Boards - October 2025

R&D
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From high-profile resignations to the addition of seasoned executives and scientific leaders, last month saw a series of notable changes across boardrooms and advisory panels in the life sciences sector. 

Read on for the list.

Novo Nordisk faces boardroom shake-up. Amid criticism from its controlling shareholder, Helge Lund announced plans to step down as chairman of Novo Nordisk. As we reported, several other independent board members are expected to follow suit, marking a significant governance shift for the Danish pharma giant best known for its leadership in diabetes and obesity treatments.

CelLBxHealth adds two to Board. CelLBxHealth (formerly ANGLE), a global player in circulating tumour cell technologies, has strengthened its board with two appointments including a new Chair. Dr Jan Groen became Executive Chairman, bringing over 25 years of experience in oncology diagnostics and a track record of corporate turnarounds, including the successful restructuring of Oncomethylome Science into MDxHealth. Klaas de Boaer joined as Senior Advisor to the Board, leveraging decades of venture capital expertise following an early career at McKinsey & Company.

Four more Boards welcome new Chairs. Last month saw a number of changes to Board leadership at biotechs, bringing in a lot of big pharma experience.

  • Belgian biopharma Bioxodes, focused on thrombotic and inflammatory disease therapies, appointed Philippe Monteyne as Chairman of the Board. A former GSK and Sanofi executive, Monteyne played a pivotal role in developing the HPV vaccine Cervarix and brings a decade of venture capital experience to the role.
  • Radiopharmaceutical innovator AdvanCell has appointed Andrew Kay as Chair of the Board. Kay previously served as CEO of Algeta ASA, steering the company through its $2.9 billion acquisition by Bayer in 2014.
  • UK-based Alethio Therapeutics, developing therapies for myeloproliferative neoplasms, named Mike Grey as Chair of the Board. Grey has founded and scaled multiple biotech firms and currently chairs several companies, including Mirum Pharmaceuticals and Theolytics, while serving as venture partner at Pappas Capital.
  • Barcelona-based Ona Therapeutics, working on antibody-drug conjugates, welcomed Dr Antoine Yver as Chair of the Board. Yver’s 35-year career spans leadership roles at Daiichi Sankyo, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, and Merck, where he contributed to the approval of 13 breakthrough cancer therapies, including Enhertu and Tagrisso.

Galapagos expands Board with development experts. Global biotech Galapagos strengthened its governance with two new directors. Dr Neil Johnston spent 16 years at Novartis, most recently as global head of business development and licensing and a member of the Pharma Executive Committee. Devang Bhuva is currently senior vice president of corporate development and alliance management at Gilead, overseeing licensing, partnerships, and acquisitions.

HUTCHMED taps clinical trials leader for Board. Professor Tan Shao Weng joined HUTCHMED as a non-executive director. He heads the Division of Clinical Trials and Epidemiological Sciences at Singapore’s National Cancer Center and holds academic roles at Duke-NUS Medical School and the Genome Institute of Singapore.

PL BioScience adds investor. German life sciences firm PL BioScience appointed Ole Henrik Bang-Andreasen to its Board of Directors. Bang-Andreasen serves as principal at AVANT BIO, a US-based early-stage and growth equity firm.

TOLREMO strengthens Scientific Advisory Board. Basel-based TOLREMO added Dr Kenneth C Anderson to its Scientific Advisory Board. A Harvard Medical School professor and director of the LeBow Institute for Myeloma Therapeutics, Anderson has been instrumental in developing and securing FDA approval for landmark therapies such as bortezomib, lenalidomide, and monoclonal antibodies like daratumumab.

Noetik assembles star Scientific Advisory team. San Francisco-based Noetik announced the formation of a high-profile Scientific Advisory Board featuring Dr Vijay Kuchroo, Samuel L Wasserstrom Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and founding director of the Gene Lay Institute for Immunology and Inflammation; Dr Matthew Albert, VP of translational sciences and early clinical development at Octant, whose previous experience includes stints at Genentech and Institut Pasteur; Dr William Grossman, former SVP and therapeutic area head of oncology at Gilead Sciences; Dr Marcia Belvin, chief scientific officer at CytomX Therapeutics; and Dr Kwok-Kin Wong, a tenured professor of medicine of NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center.

Brixton Biosciences appoints co-chairs for its SAB. Boston-based Brixton Biosciences, developing novel pain therapies, named two co-chairs to its Board. William J Hozack, is an internationally recognised hip and knee replacement surgeon, while Dr Brian J Cole is a leading orthopaedic researcher and cartilage restoration specialist.

Glen Clova Scientific forms Clinical Advisory Board. UK-based Glen Clova Scientific, a University of Dundee spin-off focused on biologics for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, has established a Clinical Advisory Board chaired by Professor Alan Irvine, Professor of Dermatology at Trinity College Dublin and Consultant Dermatologist at Children’s Health Ireland. Joining him are:

  • Professor Gil Yosipovitch, a dermatology expert at the University of Miami and director of the Miami Itch Center.
  • Professor Sonja Ständer, Professor of Dermatology and Neurodermatology at the University of Münster and head of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Chronic Pruritus.
  • Dr Huub Gelderblom, physician-scientist and director of strategic partnerships at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle.

That’s it for the Boards for October. Remember you can send your own hires to editorial@pharmaphorum.com for inclusion in this column.