Changing Faces: Pharma and biotech hires, June & July 2026

June and July delivered a busy stretch of leadership moves across pharma and biotech.

From major R&D appointments at large drugmakers to a wave of CEO, CMO, and commercial hires across emerging biotechs, companies continued to reshape their leadership teams in preparation for upcoming clinical, regulatory, and commercial milestones.

Sanofi, Lundbeck reinforce research leadership. French biotech giant Sanofi, which focuses on vaccines and immunology, appointed Paolo Fontouraas head of R&D. Fontoura brings deep experience from Roche, where he spent 16 years and ultimately served as global head of clinical development across neuroscience, immunology, ophthalmology, infectious diseases, and rare diseases. He also served as chief medical officer at virtual cell model developer Xaira Therapeutics and retained an academic position at Nova Medical School in Portugal. Meanwhile, Danish brain health specialist Lundbeck selected Tarek Samadas EVP and head of research and development. Samad was previously SVP and global head of research and corporate patents at the firm.

Moderna boosts commercial capabilities ahead of vaccine launches. As it prepared for potential launches of mRNA-based seasonal flu, combined flu/COVID-19 and norovirus vaccines in 2027 and 2028, Cambridge-based mRNA leader Moderna named Esther Banque chief commercial officer. Banque arrived with experience from senior positions at Novartis, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Zoetis, while the company also expanded the operational responsibilities of president Stephen Hoge.

Psychedelic outfit hires seasoned leader. Clinical-stage biotech Rose Hill Life Sciences, which is advancing psilocybin-based therapeutics for neurological and psychiatric conditions, promoted Jama Pitman to CEO. Pitman had joined the company as a strategic advisor last year and previously spent more than two decades in biopharma, including leading development at Deciphera Pharmaceuticals through its $2.4 billion acquisition.

Cell and gene biotechs name new CEOs. Several biotech firms on the cutting edge of cell and gene therapies turned to experienced industry leaders to guide their next stage of growth.

• Gustavo Mahler became CEO of ARScience Biotherapeutics after serving as CEO of both Cellistic and Ncardia, where he drove growth in the induced pluripotent stem cell sector.
• Next-generation proteomics company Genopore appointed Rey Mali as CEO. Mali brings leadership experience from Accellix, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Twist Bioscience, Illumina and Thermo Fisher Scientific.
• Synthetic DNA specialist Camena Bioscience selected Gregory P. McGuinness as CEO. He most recently led Inanovate and previously co-founded and headed TwiXimo Therapeutics.
• Human cell programming company bit.bio named Emma Pepperell to the top job. Formerly vice president of commercial, she succeeds Przemek Obloj.

Simris expands leadership team. Swedish ADC developer Simris Biologics appointed Andreas Pahl as CEO. Pahl joined from Heidelberg Pharma, where he served as chief executive and helped advance the company’s amanitin-based ADC platform into the clinic. Elsewhere within the Simris Group, Dr Tiffany J Vora became strategic advisor. Vora brings experience as a Singularity Fellow in Biotechnology, a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center, and a former Bristol Myers Squibb scientist focused on drug target validation.

Oryn Therapeutics builds out executive ranks. Oryn Therapeutics, which is developing engineered macrocyclic peptide therapeutics known as Orynotides, appointed Guy Rosenthal as CEO. Before joining the company, he led corporate and business development activities at Laekna Therapeutics. The company also recruited Paul Carrington as senior vice president of discovery and early development. Carrington comes in with experience from Merck & Co., where he led multiple peptide discovery and development programmes.

Still more biotech CEO hires. This summer was a busy one for leadership appointments, and there were even more changes at the top:

• Antiviral drug developer Cocrystal Pharma selected James Sapirstein as CEO, drawing on his experience at Contravir Pharmaceuticals, Tobira Therapeutics, and Serono Laboratories.
• Hearing-loss specialist Sensorion appointed Fred Chereau CEO, bringing more than three decades of rare disease leadership experience.
• Celltaxis, a company developing treatments for lymphatic dysfunction, elevated co-founder Eileen Heffernan to CEO after she had previously served as chief business officer.
• UK retinal disease biotech Exonate named Olav Hellebø CEO, adding an executive who previously led ReNeuron and secured $125 million in equity financing there.
• Newly launched women’s health company Oriva Therapeutics installed co-founder Dr Agnès Arbat as CEO and chief medical officer after previous roles at Oxolife, Bayer, and Organon.
• Cancer-focused gene therapy company Vyriad promoted Luke Russell. In his previous EVP role, he helped drive partnerships with Novartis and Regeneron, launching its G-Link platform and supporting an $85 million Series B financing. Current president Dr Stephen Russell will move into the role of chief scientific officer and executive chair.

AdvanCell expands senior management team. Clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical company AdvanCell announced three key appointments. Simon Puttick became chief isotope development officer after helping establish the company’s targeted alpha therapy platform as chief scientific officer. François Gaudet joined as chief scientific officer following senior scientific leadership positions at Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, and Mnemo Therapeutics. The company also recruited Justyna Kelly as chief technology officer after she led Eli Lilly’s Indianapolis radioligand therapy manufacturing site.

Syntax Bio reshuffles co-founder responsibilities. Chicago-based synthetic biology company Syntax Bio appointed co-founder Ryan Clarke chief scientific officer after he previously served as chief technology officer, while fellow co-founder Nikolas Balanis was promoted to chief technology officer and will take responsibility for the firm’s synthetic biology platform and AI-enabled computational biology efforts.

SynGenSys assembles specialist technical leadership. Biotechnology company SynGenSys added four senior hires to support its synthetic gene promoter platform. Dr Cristina Alexandru-Crivac joined as head of bioinformatics and data science, bringing expertise in computational genomics and biopharma project delivery. Dr Abayomi Johnson became head of cell and gene therapy expression technologies, bringing more than a decade of relevant experience. Dr Molly Smith was appointed head of CHO expression technologies, drawing on her biological engineering research at the University of Sheffield. Completing the group was Dr Thilo Pohle, who became head of commercial and brings extensive expertise in AAV manufacturing, protein production, and promoter engineering, according to the company.

Abivax reinforces commercial infrastructure. Clinical-stage inflammation specialist Abivax announced a quartet of commercial hires. Jeff Haas became global head of market access and pricing. Haas served as a corporate vice president at Abbott Laboratories during the COVID-19 pandemic. James Berger joined as global head of marketing from Amgen, where he led the TEZSPIRE franchise, following more than a decade at Takeda. Ivan Nuñez-Pacheco took up the role of global head of patient services after leading patient support activities at AbbVie. Rounding out the team, Heather Dean became global head of sales, accounts, and commercial operations, bringing launch experience from Eli Lilly and Takeda.

Hansa Biopharma strengthens finance and partnering functions. Swedish commercial-stage biopharma company Hansa Biopharma recruited Adam Cutler as chief financial officer from Mural Oncology, having previously served as CFO at Q32 Bio and Molecular Templates. The company also hired Fredrik Röök as vice president of business development from AstraZeneca, where he oversaw major partnering, licensing, M&A, and collaboration activities.

Kymera Therapeutics adds development expertise. Targeted protein degradation specialist Kymera Therapeutics appointed Elizabeth Laws as senior vice president and development programme leader for KT-621 after her tenure at Sanofi, where she most recently led integrated launch and commercialisation excellence. The company also selected Penny Carlson as senior vice president of development operations following her leadership of global clinical development operations at Takeda.

Six biotech and pharma companies recruit chief medical officers. A range of companies brought in new clinical leaders during the period.

• Dr Jeroen Rovers became chief medical officer at organ transplant-focused Allogenetics after serving as CMO at Mendus.
• FSIAD/HSDD specialists Arletta Pharma appointed Steve van Os as chief medical officer, drawing on his experience at Millicent Pharma, UPyTher, and his own consultancy practice.
• Gene therapy firm EpilepsyGTx named Dr Teresa Nunes chief medical officer following a leadership role at CRO Allucent.
• German mental health company FundaMental Pharma recruited Dr Hans Eriksson, whose career has included stints at AstraZeneca, Lundbeck, Compass Pathways, and HMNC Brain Health.
• Lakefront Biotherapeutics selected Dr Eric Hedrick as chief medical officer after senior roles at EQRx, BeiGene, Epizyme, and Pharmacyclics.
• Cambridge cancer biotech PhoreMost appointed Dr Gabriel Fox, who brought three decades of experience spanning Roche and Gilead Sciences.
• Obesity-focused Verdiva Bio chose Steve Marso as CMO after he served in the equivalent role at Metsera.

Bexorg and Formation Bio appoint scientific leaders. Precision neurology company Bexorg hired Bruce Car as chief scientific officer from Biohaven, where he helped oversee work connected to BHV-8100. AI-native drug developer Formation Bio recruited Michael Ehlers as chief scientific officer and head of R&D. Ehlers arrived with senior experience spanning Biogen, Pfizer, Ascidian Therapeutics, MPM BioImpact, Apple Tree Partners, and Duke University.

Commercial leadership changes at CNX Therapeutics and Capricor. London specialty pharma company CNX Therapeutics appointed Erin Federman interim chief commercial officer. Federman brings more than 20 years of commercial and launch experience from companies including STADA, Novo Nordisk, and Mylan. Cell and exosome therapy developer Capricor Therapeutics selected Michael Maurer as chief commercial officer. Maurer oversaw the US launch of Sarepta’s ELEVIDYS gene therapy and has held positions at Amicus and Bristol Myers Squibb.

Finance appointments span three companies. The CFO role also saw some notable new hires this summer.

• German oncology biotech CatalYm named Peter Garcia chief financial officer after his tenure as CFO of Bluejay Therapeutics.
• Kazia Therapeutics appointed James Levine as CFO, bringing experience from Cardiff Oncology.
• Regenerative medicine company Oral Biolife recruited Thomas J Corrigan as vice president of finance after a career that included 17 years at Novartis, as well as roles at Johnson & Johnson and PwC.

Legal and people leadership hires. Xilio Therapeutics appointed Ben Harshbarger as chief legal officer, adding a biotech veteran who most recently served as CLO at Astria Therapeutics. Acadia Pharmaceuticals strengthened its HR leadership with the appointment of Carl Segerstrom as chief people officer. Segerstrom brings more than 25 years of global HR experience, including a 17-year career at Merck.

Opella promotes regional leader. Consumer healthcare company Opella, whose brands include Allegra/Allevia, Dulcolax, and Buscopan, appointed Nikhilesh Kalra as general manager for Western Europe. Kalra joined the company in 2016 and had previously led its India and South Asia operations after earlier roles at Reckitt and General Mills.

Research and academic institutions announce senior appointments. The Quantitative Biosciences Institute at UCSF named Andy Kilianski chief science and technology officer. Kilianski’s experience spans academic virology, national security, and translational research, most recently at ARPA-H. Meanwhile, the Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre appointed Professor Isidro Cortés-Ciriano as Little Princess Trust Professor of Paediatric Oncology. An internationally recognised leader in computational cancer genomics, he will help connect Oxford’s expertise across cancer biology, genomics, therapeutic development, and clinical translation with oncology drug development capabilities.

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