Changing Faces - Pharma and biotech - October 2025

R&D
female and male new hire

From high-profile resignations to strategic appointments, October was a buzzy month for pharma industry personnel news. 

Read on for our monthly pharma and biotech hires round-up.

Eli Lilly brings in former FDA leader. As we previously reported, Peter Marks has taken on the role of head of molecular discovery and infectious disease research at Eli Lilly. Previously the director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), Marks made the transition six months after leaving the agency amid reported irreconcilable differences with HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. His move follows a trend of senior FDA officials joining the private sector.

Organon CEO steps down amid investigation. Last month also saw Kevin Ali resign as CEO of Organon after an internal investigation uncovered questionable sales practices. The New Jersey-based company, which focuses on reproductive health and contraception, has appointed Joseph Morrissey, currently head of manufacturing and supply, as interim CEO while it navigates this leadership transition.

Italfarmaco appoints new leader with global experience. Italfarmaco, a privately held Milan-based pharma company active in immuno-oncology, gynaecology, neurology, cardiovascular disease, and rare diseases, has tapped Dr Francesco Di Marco as its new CEO. Di Marco brings a wealth of international experience, having held senior leadership roles across Europe, the United States, and emerging markets.

Mosaic Therapeutics welcomes new CEO. Former Cimeio Therapeutics CEO Thomas Fuchs has taken the helm at Mosaic Therapeutics, a Cambridge, UK precision oncology company. At Cimeio, Fuchs oversaw a $50 million Series A raise and secured a major strategic collaboration with Kyowa Kirin.

Alethio Therapeutics Names Industry Veteran as CEO. In a final CEO appointment, Dr Rohit Batta has joined Alethio Therapeutics in the top job. Coming from Ferring Ventures, Batta also brings experience as chief medical officer at Vicore Pharma and in senior roles at GSK. Alethio, a UK biotech, focuses on therapies for myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).

AIRNA strengthens C-Suite. Cambridge, Massachusetts and Tübingen-based AIRNA, which develops RNA editing therapeutics, has expanded its executive ranks:

  • Allison Dorval, the company’s new chief financial officer, brings over 25 years of financial strategy experience, most recently at Verve Therapeutics, where she played a key role in its acquisition by Eli Lilly.
  • Niru Subramanian, who joins as chief operating officer, brings more than 25 years of experience in corporate strategy and programme management, having served as COO of Orbital Therapeutics.

Immatics brings in two senior leaders. Immatics, a biotech focused on T-cell receptor-based cancer immunotherapy, has also bolstered its leadership team:

  • Venkat Ramanan, who’s in as CFO, previously held roles at Seagen, Gilead Sciences, Amgen, and Anthos Therapeutics.
  • Amie Krause, the firm’s new chief people officer, brings over two decades of HR leadership experience from companies including Dompé, Revance Therapeutics, Atara Biotherapeutics, and Amgen.

Other biotechs appoint top scientific and medical leadership. Several biotechs have announced key appointments on the R&D side of the business.

  • At Epsilogen, a London-based biotech developing immunoglobulin E antibodies to treat cancer, Dr Cristina Oliva joins as chief medical officer from BerGenBio, bringing a wealth of experience from IQVIA, Takeda, GSK, and Lilly.
  • Dr Matilde Saggese becomes CMO at oncolytic immunotherapy outfit Theolytics, bringing over 20 years of oncology expertise from leading hospitals and research institutes.
  • VALANX Biotech, an Austrian biotech focused on site-specific protein conjugation, has brought aboard Klaus Orlinger as chief science officer following his tenure at HOOKIPA Pharma.

Two more biotechs welcome new CFOs. In addition to AIRNA and Immatics, Atossa Therapeutics, a Seattle-based biopharma developing breast cancer therapies, and NodThera, a Boston-based biotech focused on a novel treatment paradigm for chronic inflammatory diseases, have also appointed new CFOs. Mark Daniel joins Atossa with more than 25 years of experience in scaling global life-science businesses, while Chris Guiffre joins NodThera from Vizgen and, before that, Auron Therapeutics.

Galapagos names new General Counsel. Fred Blakeslee has joined global biotech Galapagos as General Counsel. Formerly VP of Transactions at AbbVie, Blakeslee played a pivotal role in AbbVie’s $63 billion acquisition of Allergan and numerous high-profile partnerships.

ITM brings in new HR lead. At German biotech ITM, which specialises in radiopharmaceuticals, Annette Breunig has been named chief people officer. Breunig previously led global workforce integration across 10 countries as EVP of People & Culture at Infios Group.

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.