Welcome to this week's Chutes & Ladders, our roundup of hirings, firings and retirings throughout the industry. Please send the good word—or the bad—from your shop to Kyle LaHucik, and we will feature it here at the end of each week.
As it nears FDA filing for first drug, Mirati parts ways with chief medical, operating officers
Mirati Therapeutics
Joseph Leveque, M.D., and Daniel Faga are out the door as chief medical and operating officers, respectively.
The C-suite leaders were given the boot six weeks into new CEO David Meek's tenure. The company is attempting to catch up to Amgen in the KRAS race with its drug adagrasib, which Mirati plans to ask the FDA to approve in the coming months. In the place of the departed executives, Mirati is searching for a chief financial officer to oversee commercialization efforts. Fierce Biotech
VC shop OrbiMed poaches ex-Moderna CMO for venture partner post
OrbiMed
Tal Zaks, M.D., Ph.D., is one of two new venture partners at OrbiMed.
Zaks departed Moderna in recent weeks, where he was chief medical officer after a six-year stint at the biotech that has gone on to COVID-19 vaccine fame. Since revealing his departure plans in February, he's also taken up the non-executive director post at Teva Pharmaceuticals. OrbiMed also hired Sheila Gujrathi, M.D., as a venture adviser. She was previously executive chair of Ventyx Biosciences and was CEO of Gossamer Bio until about a year ago. Fierce Biotech
Lengo extends hiring spree with Pfizer veteran, Turning Point VP Brion Murray as SVP of research
Lengo Therapeutics
Brion Murray, Ph.D., is the new senior vice president of research.
Murray joins the early-stage San Diego biotech from Turning Point Therapeutics, where he was vice president for cancer biology and translational research. He was also a research fellow at Pfizer previously, where he worked on cancer therapies like Ibrance, Vizimpro and others. His hire comes after other additions to the team, including a chief of development and SVPs in other functions. Fierce Biotech
> Derek Chalmers spent 17 years getting Cara Therapeutics first drug to the FDA finish line. Now, three months after snagging regulatory approval, he's headed out the door and will be replaced by Leo Pharma's U.S. CEO Christopher Posner. Fierce Biotech
> Bayer tapped Christoph Koenen as its new global head of clinical development and operations for its R&D unit. Koenen starts on New Year's Day after serving as chief medical officer at Otsuka Pharmaceutical. Fierce Biotech
> Trials network provider named Harvard associate professor Jeffrey Brown, Ph.D., its chief scientific officer. Fierce Biotech
> Autoimmune biotech Imcyse named Gene Mack its chief financial officer after he oversaw finances at OncoC4. Release
> Frank Wiegand, M.D., Ph.D., is now chief medical officer of Beckley Psytech, a neuropsychiatric biotech, after more than 20 years at Johnson & Johnson's Janssen, including most recently as VP of global medical affairs for neuroscience. Release
> Inflammatory diseases and pain biotech 180 Life Sciences named Quan Vu to the post of chief operating/business officer after he served as a CBO/CFO consultant at LS Associates. Release
> Niels Plath , Ph.D., is the new chief scientific officer at neurodegenerative biotech Muna Therapeutics after serving as acting head of global research at Lundbeck. Release
> Bioelectronic company SetPoint Medical hired Amy Derosier as VP of clinical affairs after leading clinical development for Torax Medical. Release
> John Long is the new chief financial officer and Jielun Zhu transitions to the role of chief strategy officer at I-Mab, a biologics biotech. Release
> Jennifer Minai-Azary left Millendo Therapeutics, where she was CFO, to take up the same post at Context Therapeutics. The cancer biotech also hired Alex Levit as chief legal officer after he was VP and deputy general counsel at OptiNose. Release
> Christopher Leamon, Ph.D., is the new chief scientific officer of Fusion Pharmaceuticals after being executive director of radioligand drug discovery at Novartis. Release
> Katarina Jelic Maiboe, Ph.D., is the new head of regulatory affairs at HMNC Brain Health after holding the senior director of regulatory affairs post at Ascendis Pharma. Release
> Bioventus named Sharon Klugewicz its SVP of quality and regulatory affairs after holding the post of chief operating officer at Misonix since 2019. Release
> Junshi Biosciences subsidiary TopAlliance named Virginia Ellen Maher, M.D., its VP of medical sciences after holding an executive director role at biopharma consulting firm DataRevive and previously a nearly 20-year stint at the FDA. Release
> GBS named Steven Boyages, Ph.D., to the post of interim CEO as the board searches for a permanent chief executive. Release
> Jinky Ang Rosselli was promoted to chief data and insights officer at BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, where she has worked since 2015. Release
> Precision genetic medicine company Akouos named Stacy Price its chief technical officer after she was SVP of technical operations at Ziopharm Oncology. Release
> David Renas will step down as chief financial officer of women's reproductive health biotech ObsEva, effective Jan. 5. Release
> Tango Therapeutics named Marc Rudoltz, M.D., its chief medical officer, and Doug Barry to the post of general counsel. Rudoltz was a CMO for Deciphera Pharmaceuticals and Constellation Pharmaceuticals previously through his role at MSR Healthcare Consultants. Barry was previously VP of corporate law at Alexion Pharmaceuticals. Release
> EyePoint Pharmaceuticals named Jay Duker, M.D., its chief operating officer after serving in a part-time chief strategic scientific officer role since 2020. Release
> Liver and neurodegenerative biotech BioVie named Joseph Palumbo, M.D., its new chief medical officer after holding the same post at Zynerba Pharmaceuticals. Release
> Adrian Hepner, M.D., Ph.D., joins Coya Therapeutics as chief medical officer, and Greg MacMichael, Ph.D., is the new chief technical officer of the Treg biotech. Release
> Bluestar Genomics named Jim Vaughn its chief commercial officer after holding a similar role at Genomic Health.
> Pamela Fisher was named chief diversity and inclusion officer at Bristol Myers Squibb after leading diversity and inclusion and global strategic partnerships at Johnson & Johnson. Internal announcement
> Stephen Dodge is now global head of medical affairs and an SVP at Madrigal after serving as an SVP at Intercept Pharmaceuticals. Release (PDF)
> Stephanie Brown will be president of Santhera Pharmaceuticals' North America division starting Dec. 1. She was previously SVP and head of rare diseases for Ipsen Pharmaceuticals' North America unit. Release
> Stewart Campbell was promoted to EVP and president of North America for Ipsen. He joined the company as SVP and oncology head earlier this year after 14 years at Roche's Genentech. Release
> NeuroBo Pharmaceuticals named Gil Price, M.D., its president and CEO as Richard Kang, Ph.D., steps down later this month. Kang will remain on the board and will consult the company for up to one year. Release
> Quoin Pharmaceuticals named Gordon Dunn its chief financial officer after he held the same role at Qured. Release
> Elie Hanania, Ph.D., was named vice president of process development for viral vector tech at Avid Bioservices after serving as a director of upstream process development for Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies. Release