Changing Faces – Boards of Directors and Advisory Boards – August and September 2025

Welcome back to Changing Faces, in our final round-up for August and September there are plenty of Board appointments to report on, including a lot of impressive Scientific Advisory Boards.

Read on for more.

Atelerix strengthens Board leadership with two additions. A new Chair of the Board has been named at Atelerix, a UK-based specialist in non-cryogenic biological sample storage: Sunil Shah, a serial life sciences entrepreneur with over two decades of experience founding and investing in early-stage biotech companies. Shah is co-founder of the o2h Group and CEO of o2h Ventures, which manages a portfolio of more than 35 companies. Joining him on the Board is Dr Catherine Elton, currently chief business officer at Axol Biosciences. Elton brings more than 20 years of scientific and commercial leadership in the life sciences sector.

BioIndustry Association welcomes new Board Chair. The BioIndustry Association, which supports biotech innovation in the UK, has appointed Shaun Grady as its new Board Chair. Grady, who currently chairs AstraZeneca UK, succeeds Dr Daniel Mahony, who held the role since January 2022.

Blue Cell Therapeutics names Board Chair. Another Board with a new Chair is at Blue Cell Therapeutics, a Danish biotech developing long-lasting allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell therapies. Olav Hellebø is a seasoned pharma executive with over 30 years of industry experience.

Lilly’s AI chief joins GeneDx Board. Joining the Board of Directors at GeneDx is Thomas Fuchs, chief AI officer at Eli Lilly and Company. His appointment reflects the Maryland-based diagnostics firm’s commitment to advancing personalised health through genomic testing and AI-driven data analysis.

Perspective Therapeutics adds GSK leader to Board. The Board of Perspective Therapeutics has welcomed Maya Martinez-Davis, president of GSK’s US commercial business. Her commercial leadership experience will support the Seattle-based radiopharmaceutical company’s growth strategy.

Day One founder joins Pheon Board. Pheon Therapeutics, which is developing antibody-drug conjugates for hard-to-treat cancers, tapped Dr Samuel Blackman, founder and former head of R&D at Day One Biopharmaceuticals, for its Board. His career also includes senior roles at Merck and GlaxoSmithKline.

Three more Board changes. To round out our Board of Director news, two more additions and one departure:

• Hamburg and Boston-based AI pathology firm Mindpeak has appointed Christiaan Neeleman to its Board. Neeleman previously led global clinical testing and biomarker services at Discovery Life Sciences.
• Joining the Board of Biotech Growth Trust is Dame Jenny Harries, who served as chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency from its inception in 2021. The London-based investor focuses on next-generation biotech companies.
• A change at Kuros Biosciences sees Albert Arp stepping down from the Board of Directors with immediate effect, citing personal and professional reasons. The Zurich-based company develops next-generation bone healing technologies.

Hongene adds lipid nanoparticle pioneer to SAB. Joining the Scientific Advisory Board at Singapore CDMO Hongene is Dr Pieter Cullis, renowned for his foundational work in lipid nanoparticle technology. His innovations have enabled several FDA-approved therapies, including the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

TRIMTECH Therapeutics forms Scientific Advisory Board. The newly formed Scientific Advisory Board at TRIMTECH Therapeutics includes two prominent scientists: Prof Alessio Ciulli, Chair of Chemical and Structural Biology at the University of Dundee and director of the Centre for Targeted Protein Degradation, and Dr Adam Gilbert, a pharma veteran with over 30 years of experience, including senior roles at Pfizer and advisory positions at Axiom Therapeutics, PhoreMost, and Gero.AI. TRIMTECH is developing highly selective small molecule degraders for neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases.

Sethera Therapeutics adds renowned chemists to SAB. Two leading chemists have joined the Scientific Advisory Board at Sethera Therapeutics. Jeffrey Kelly is Professor of Chemistry at Scripps Research and a pioneer in protein folding and proteostasis, while Alexander Klibanov is Novartis Professor of Chemistry Emeritus at MIT, known for his work in enzyme catalysis and antimicrobial materials. Utah-based Sethera is focused on novel peptide therapies.

Zai Lab forms Oncology Scientific Advisory Board. A newly established Oncology Scientific Advisory Board at Zai Lab includes a distinguished group of experts from leading institutions: Dr Lieping Chen and Dr Patricia LoRusso of Yale University; Dr Richard S Finn of UCLA; Dr Thomas T Gajewski from the University of Chicago; Dr Melissa L Johnson of the Sarah Cannon Research Institute; Dr Matthew Krebs from the University of Manchester; Dr Michael T Lotze of the University of Pittsburgh; and Dr Timothy Yap of MD Anderson Cancer Center. The board will guide Zai Lab’s oncology pipeline, which includes multiple investigational therapies.

Quell Therapeutics assembles T-reg-focused SAB. Quell Therapeutics has formed a Scientific Advisory Board composed of global leaders in T-reg cell biology and immunology. The line-up includes Sir Robert Lechler, NHS non-executive director; Dr Elmar Jaeckel, from the Toronto Liver Transplant Programme; Bruce Levine and Dr Peter Merkel of the University of Pennsylvania; Megan K Levings of University of British Columbia; and Sana Biotechnology’s Dr Dhavalkumar Patel.

That’s it for our this month’s Changing Faces. We’ll see you in November. In the meantime, you can send your own hires to editorial@pharmaphorum.com for inclusion in this column.