Welcome to this week's Chutes & Ladders, our roundup of significant leadership hirings, firings and retirings across the industry. Please send the good word—or the bad—from your shop to Gabrielle Masson and it will be featured here at the end of each week.
Gilead's CMO bids adieu
Gilead Sciences is saying goodbye to its chief medical officer after Merdad Parsey, M.D., Ph.D., announced intentions to leave the company early next year.
As Gilead hunts for a successor, Parsey will continue to serve as CMO until the first quarter of 2025. The outgoing exec also plans to support the transition of his replacement over the next several months, Gilead said in a release. Parsey has been at Gilead for five years, joining in November 2019.
During his stint at the company, Parsey helped lead the growth of Gilead’s development organization, including the establishment of Gilead’s cancer pipeline and the rollout of the COVID-19 treatment Veklury. The oncology portfolio has suffered some setbacks in recent months, however, with Gilead dropping work on magrolimab in April despite the anti-CD47 monoclonal antibody being the centerpiece of its $4.9 billion acquisition of Forty Seven.
“It has been a privilege to lead the development team, especially as we have worked to deliver transformative medicines for people with HIV, COVID-19 and cancer,” Parsey said in a statement. “I am profoundly excited about the work we have done to build a strong, diverse clinical pipeline that has tremendous potential to deliver on our commitment to improve health for people around the world.” Release
Cassava execs are out
Austin, Texas-based Cassava Sciences is searching for a permanent leader in the wake of the resignation of CEO Remi Barbier.
The Alzheimer's-focused company, which is no stranger to controversy, has found an interim helmsman in Richard Barry, who has been tapped as executive chairman of the board and Cassava’s principal executive officer, effective immediately. Barry has served as director of Cassava since June 2021 and has also served as director of Sarepta Therapeutics since June 2015.
At the same time, the company will search for a new permanent CEO, Cassava said in a press release. Barbier is set to remain onboard with Cassava until Sept. 13 in a non-executive capacity, without duties or responsibilities.
In addition, Lindsay Burns, Ph.D., SVP of neuroscience, has agreed to step down from her role at Cassava. After being separated from the company for a year, Burns will offer consulting services to Cassava, providing information and support for scientific research and obtaining approval for the company’s products. Release
I-Mab loses CEO, finds new board chair
I-Mab also found itself in need of a new CEO this week, after Raj Kannan stepped down from his post on July 15.
Kannan is sticking around as an advisor until July 31, while I-Mab hunts for a permanent successor. Sean Xi-Yong Fu will be stepping up to become interim helmsman and a member of the board of directors. Fu is also an operating partner of ABio-X, which is an incubation platform for life sciences companies.
Before joining ABio-X, Fu was co-founder and CEO of RVAC Medicines, which utilized an mRNA platform.
Meanwhile, after a six-year run as a member of I-Mab’s board of directors, Wei Fu is stepping up to the captain’s seat. Fu, who has served on I-Mab’s board since June 2018, is succeeding Pamela Klein, M.D., as chairman of the board. Klein is stepping down after taking on the role on an interim basis. Release
> Jonathan Appleby, Ph.D., has been appointed chief scientific officer of Mogrify Limited, a regenerative medicine company. He was previously executive director and CSO of the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult and has held leadership roles at GSK, including CSO for cell and gene therapy in GSK’s Rare Diseases Unit. Release
> Rectify Pharmaceuticals is appointing Bharat Reddy, Ph.D., as chief business officer. Reddy most recently served as a vice president of strategy and business development at Kelonia Therapeutics and has also served in leadership at Catamaran Bio and bluebird bio. Release
> Daniel Janse, Ph.D., has been named president and CEO of AffyImmune. Janse is joining from Northpond Ventures, where he was managing director. He has also held leadership positions at Arbor Biotechnologies, Juno Therapeutics, Johnson & Johnson Innovation Center, Inventages Venture Capital and McKinsey & Company. Release
> Nadir Mahmood, Ph.D., will join Nkarta as president, sharing executive leadership responsibilities with Paul Hastings, who continues as CEO. David Shook, M.D., is now chief medical officer, head of research and development. Mahmood was previously the CEO of Rezo Therapeutics and also had a past life at Nkarta as chief financial and business officer. Release
> Avalo Therapeutics is appointing Mittie Doyle, M.D., as chief medical officer. Doyle joins from Aro Biotherapeutics, where she served as chief medical officer since 2021. She has also had senior roles at CSL Behring, Shire Pharmaceuticals, Flexion Therapeutics and Alexion Pharmaceuticals. Release
> Rezo Therapeutics is appointing Cristiana Guiducci, Ph.D., as chief scientific officer. Guiducci previously served as senior vice president of immunology and oncology research at Nurix Therapeutics. She also spent more than 13 years at Dynavax Technologies. Release