Changing Faces

Perhaps it’s just the summer slowdown, but it’s been a light month for executive hires in the pharma and biotech world. Nonetheless we did track some significant moves including a couple of CEO transitions. Read on for the roundup.

Flagging Novo completes CEO transition. As we reported at the end of the month, Novo Nordisk named its new CEO effective August 7th after Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen stepped down in May by mutual agreement with the Board. Maziar Mike Doustdar will attempt to get the company back on track after a midyear hit to its sales projections attributed to “unsafe and unlawful mass compounding” of semiglutide drugs. Doustdar was previously Novo’s head of international operations.

Abrupt leadership shift at PureTech Health. Following the sudden departure of Bharatt Chowrira, Robert Lyne has stepped into the role of Interim CEO at PureTech Health, a clinical-stage biopharma company known for its network of spinout ventures. Lyne, who joined the company as Chief Portfolio Officer in January 2024, brings a wealth of experience from his time leading UK-listed life science innovation and venture capital firms, including a stint as CEO of Arix Bioscience plc.

PureTech did not disclose a specific reason for Chowrira’s exit, but in a reflective LinkedIn post, he shared that he was leaving “to pursue my next opportunity and challenge,” adding that “There’s never a ‘perfect’ time to leave a company you’ve poured your heart into, but I’m confident this is the right moment for both PureTech and my personal journey."

Novo Nordisk vet to lead Vesper Bio. Vesper Bio, a Danish clinical-stage biotech focused on developing an oral therapy for frontotemporal dementia, has named Jacob Falck Hansen its new CEO. Hansen previously led corporate strategy at Novo Nordisk and currently serves as a Partner at Lundbeckfonden BioCapital, Vesper’s largest shareholder.

Essential Pharma strengthens finance and technology leadership. Essential Pharma, a UK-based pharmaceutical company serving niche patient populations, has made two key appointments. Simon Ramsden joined as Chief Financial Officer. He was most recently CFO at Resolution Therapeutics and previously held the role of VP, Head of Global Finance at EUSA Pharma, where he managed financial operations across nine countries. His earlier career includes nearly a decade in senior finance roles at GSK. And Rob Smith has taken on the role of Chief Technology Officer. Smith brings deep operational experience, having served as CEO of Surepharm Services Ltd. He also spent over a decade each at Catalent Pharma Solutions and Sanofi-Aventis.

Alvotech brings finance leadership closer to home. Iceland-based Linda Jónsdóttir has been appointed chief financial officer at Alvotech, a Reykjavik biotech specialising in biosimilars. Jónsdóttir brings 15 years of senior leadership experience from Marel, a global food processing technology company. She replaces US-based Joel Morales, who is stepping down to prioritise family time.

Galapagos adds two to C-Suite. Galapagos, a global biotech focused on treatments for high unmet medical needs, has expanded its executive team with two seasoned professionals. Dan Grossman joined as chief strategy officer after two decades at Boston Consulting Group, where he was managing director and senior partner in the Global Health Care Practice Area. And Galapagos’s new chief business officer is Sooin Kwon, who was most recently a Partner at MTS Health Partners, where she guided firms through strategic transformations and growth initiatives.

More scientific and medical appointments. Several biotech companies have made C-level leadership level appointments on the research side:

Dr Debra Barker joined Centauri Therapeutics as chief medical officer. With over 25 years of leadership experience at Novartis, Roche, and GSK, Barker will help steer the UK-based company’s novel immunotherapy programmes targeting infectious diseases.
Jan Pinkas became chief scientific officer at Crescent Biopharma, a Massachusetts-based oncology firm. Pinkas previously held the same role at Pyxis Oncology and has also worked at Magenta Therapeutics and ImmunoGen, where he spent a decade advancing antibody-drug conjugate technologies.
Dr Chris Galloway was named chief medical and development officer at Tract Bio, a Boston biotech developing therapies for cancer and inflammatory diseases. He most recently served as SVP of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs at Elevar Therapeutics.

Specialty pharma taps new Australia commercial lead. At European specialty pharma company Neuraxpharm, Avendran Naidu was appointed Head of Commercial for the company's new affiliate Neuraxpharm Australia. With over 15 years of experience in pharmaceutical sales and leadership, Naidu has worked on both established and launch-stage brands at Jazz Pharmaceuticals ANZ, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and Ferring Pharmaceuticals. His focus will be on commercial activities around the company’s CNS portfolio in Australia.

AMR specialist hires product expert. Bringing more than 20 years of experience in wound care product development and commercial strategy, Paul Saunders joined Polaroid Therapeutics as Head of Product. Saunders has held senior roles at Avery Dennison Medical and Convatec. He will help drive innovation at the Swiss startup, which is developing antimicrobial technologies.

ABPI taps Daiichi Sankyo’s McMullin for VP. Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has elected Laura McMullin as its new vice president. McMullin is General Manager at Daiichi Sankyo UK, where she leads efforts to deliver cardiovascular and oncology treatments to the NHS.

That’s it for our pharma and biotech hires for July, but stay tuned for our other hires roundups and remember, you can send your own hires to editorial@pharmaphorum.com for inclusion in this column.