Prader-Willi Syndrome

None  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 Max Bayer or Gabrielle Masson, and we will feature it here at the end of each week.  Lonza nabs new CEO after snapping up Roche site Lonza From one Swiss CDMO to another. That’s the course Wolfgang Wienand is taking, with summer plans to jump from his role at Siegfried’s helm over to lead Lonza.  Lonza’s interim CEO Albert Baehny, who stepped up from his chair position in October after Pierre-Alain Ruffieux abruptly left, is set to retire from the CDMO giant after a transition period. The interim leader is expected to cede his chair title to Heineken Chair Jean-Marc Huët at Lonza’s annual shareholder meeting this May. Newly tapped Wienand will join Lonza after serving as Siegfried’s CEO for five years. He joined the CDMO in 2010 and held a variety of leadership roles before taking up the top spot, including chief scientific officer, head of global R&D and chief strategy officer.  The CEO announcement follows years of leadership turnover at Lonza and comes a few weeks after the CDMO unveiled a $1.2 billion acquisition of a large biologics manufacturing facility in California from Roche’s Genentech. Fierce Pharma  Amgen R&D leader jumps to Acadia Acadia Pharmaceuticals After leading R&D at Horizon Therapeutics, and then Amgen after Horizon’s $27.8 billion acquisition, Elizabeth H. Z. Thompson, Ph.D., is heading over to neuroscience-focused Acadia Pharmaceuticals.  Thompson is taking on the role of EVP and head of R&D at Acadia, which touts the only FDA-approved drug to treat hallucinations and delusions tied to Parkinson’s disease psychosis as well as the only FDA-approved drug for treating Rett syndrome. Thompson will focus on Acardia’s clinical-stage programs, which include a candidate for a genetic disorder called Prader-Willi syndrome and an Alzheimer’s disease psychosis program. Thompson joins from Amgen, where she was EVP of rare disease R&D after the October acquisition of Horizon, where Thompson led R&D activities. Years ago, from 2003 to 2014, Thompson had started her biopharma career at Amgen before going on to hold roles across AbbVie, Raptor and InterMune. Release  3 C-suite leaders depart I-Mab I-Mab I-Mab’s chief business officer Weimin Tang, chief communications officer Gigi Qi Feng and chief legal officer Richard Cheng Li have all chosen to exit the oncology biotech. The departures aren’t due to any disagreement with the company, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, with all three leaders leaving to pursue other opportunities.  Lan Kang, a director of I-Mab’s board, has also resigned, citing personal reasons. Of late, the company has taken steps toward becoming a U.S.-focused biotech, beginning the process of divesting its China operations in February. I-Mab did not return Fierce Biotech’s request for comment as of the time of publication. Release  > Julie Clauss is joining Odyssey Therapeutics’ adventure as chief operating officer, the company announced this week. Joining her is Christopher Butler, who was named SVP and head of chemistry. Release  > Mosaic is painting an updated R&D future with two new hires. The biotech has named Malavi Madireddi, Ph.D., as SVP of drug discovery and Scott Glaser, Ph.D., as SVP of biologics discovery. Release  > Margaret Garin, M.D., has been named VP of clinical development at Trevi Therapeutics after working on the clinical development team at now-GSK-owned Bellus Health. Former Bellus CEO Roberto Bellini took to LinkedIn last month to advocate for his former employees following layoffs at the bought biotech. Release  > NewAmsterdam Pharma has appointed Juliette Audet to serve as the company’s chief business officer. Audet was most recently a partner at life sciences VC Forbion, where she helped build NewAmsterdam Pharma. “She was very instrumental in our founding—she and I worked together on the first financing, the series A, and has been very involved in the strategy for the company formation,” NewAmsterdam CEO Michael Davidson, M.D., told Fierce Biotech this week. “So it's exciting to see her with her talent and experience actually join the leadership team now.” Release > Zura Bio has tapped Robert Lisicki to replace founding CEO Someit Sidhu, M.D., who will stay on as a non-independent board director. Lisicki most recently worked a brief six-month stint as CEO of InCarda Therapeutics. Release  > After overseeing regulatory development at Samsung Bioepis, Luke Oh, Ph.D., is set to join NeoImmuneTech as CEO. Oh worked at the FDA prior to his executive position at Samsung. Release  > Ratio Therapeutics has called on Bill Cupelo to be chief business officer after he led the sales team at Invicro. The company also announced that D. Scott Holbrook would join its board of directors. Release  > Dutch biotech Prilenia Therapeutics has hired Jina Swartz, M.D., Ph.D., as its chief medical officer. She previously held the same role at fellow neurodegenerative-focused company, Exciva. Release  > CDMO KBI Biopharma is bringing aboard Peter Carbone as chief quality officer. He joins from the Center for Breakthrough Medicines, another CDMO where he was chief operating officer. Fierce Pharma > Former CEO of Seeker Biologics, Rand Sutherland, M.D., has been named the new CEO of Upstream Bio. The company also brought on Mike Gray as CFO and COO in addition to Lisa Fiering as SVP of people and culture. Release > Addex CEO Tim Dyer will lead a new spinout company, Neurosterix, according to an announcement this week. He has been at Addex for more than 20 years. Release > Ex-Heron Therapeutics CMO Chris Storgard, M.D., has been named chief medical officer of ADARx. Before that, he was the CMO of Fate Therapeutics. Release > Merck & Co. has a new head of human resources, naming Betty Larson for the job, according to an emailed press release. She most recently was chief people officer at GE HealthCare.  > It’s difficult to fully understand the human impact of biopharma layoffs, but Fierce Biotech calculated at least 2,398 people laid off from the 25 companies reporting numbers of employees affected for 2024’s first quarter. In total, 58 layoff rounds were recorded for the industry from January through March. Fierce Biotech

BOSTON, April 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cerevance, a company focused on developing precision novel therapeutics for central nervous system (CNS) diseases, today announced participation at the upcoming 23rd Annual Needham Virtual Health Care Conference. The event takes place from April 8-11, 2024. Company management will also host one-on-one meetings during the conference. About CerevanceCerevance is focused on the development of precision treatments for central nervous system (CNS) disorders, including chronic neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Utilizing a large and growing repository of over 14,000 human brain tissue samples, Cerevance is generating an unprecedented level of expression and epigenetic data thereby enabling the company to identify the most promising targets for the next generation of treatments for CNS disorders. The company uses its proprietary NETSseq platform and advanced machine learning techniques to uncover the gene expression profiles of select cell types to identify novel targets that are uniquely expressed in relevant circuits affected by diseases or are altered in disease states. With the information obtained from its research, combined with the expertise of its team of scientists and drug developers, Cerevance is advancing multiple therapeutics that selectively modulate the discovered targets. These treatments are progressing through clinical development, with CVN424, CVN766, and CVN293 being the furthest along in the pipeline. CVN424 is a first-in-class non-dopamine therapy that shows promise in improving both motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease and may also have disease- delaying effects. CVN766 is a potent antagonist of the orexin 1 receptor with high selectivity (>1,000 fold) over the orexin 2 receptor which may benefit a variety of psychiatric conditions including schizophrenia, anxiety/panic, binge eating/obesity, substance use disorder, and Prader-Willi Syndrome. CVN293 is a novel blocker of potassium efflux in glia, regulating the inflammasome in individuals living with ALS and Alzheimer's disease. Cerevance’s robust pipeline aims to transform the lives of individuals affected by CNS diseases. Contacts Cerevance:Johnna Simoes, ir@cerevance.com Media:Andrew Mielach, amielach@lifescicomms.com, +1-646-876-5868

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ACAD) today announced the appointment of Dr. Elizabeth H. Z. Thompson as Executive Vice President, Head of Research and Development. Dr. Thompson will lead research and development at Acadia and serve as a member of the company’s Executive Leadership Team, reporting to Steve Davis, Chief Executive Officer of Acadia. “Liz is a preeminent drug research and development leader with extensive experience in the advancement and commercialization of first in class therapies,” said Steve Davis, Chief Executive Officer. “Her passion and expertise for developing new medicines that address areas of high unmet need will be a huge asset to Acadia and an important addition to our executive leadership team. Her leadership will be instrumental as we continue to advance our early and late stage assets in rare disease and central nervous system disorders and pursue opportunities to further expand our pipeline of medicines.” “I am thrilled to join Acadia at such a pivotal time,” said Liz Thompson, Executive Vice President, Head of Research and Development. “With two commercial products on the market and a strong pipeline of potential opportunities in rare disease and central nervous system disorders, we are poised for long term growth as we continue delivering new therapies to benefit patients and their families.” Dr. Thompson most recently served as Executive Vice President, Research and Development (Rare Disease) at Amgen following its acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics plc. At Horizon, Dr. Thompson led the R&D organization and oversaw the rapid realization of the company's goal to become a science-based biopharma. She joined Horizon in 2018 and served in roles of increasing responsibility that culminated at Executive Vice President, Research and Development. Prior to joining Horizon, she held roles at AbbVie, Raptor, InterMune, and Amgen in a career spanning clinical development, business development and medical communications and has been involved in pre- or post-market R&D activities for life-changing drugs including TEPEZZA®, KRYSTEXXA®, UPLIZNA®, RAVICTI®, SKYRIZI®, ESBRIET®, and ENBREL®. She has served the broader biotech ecosystem as a member of California Life Sciences, an industry advocacy organization, and as a member of the board of directors of IGM Biosciences. She has also been recognized for her dedication to the healthcare industry and mentorship and sponsorship of others as a 2021 Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association Luminary. Dr. Thompson received a B.S. in chemistry from Harvey Mudd College and a Ph.D. in macromolecular and cellular structure and chemistry from The Scripps Research Institute. About Acadia Pharmaceuticals Acadia is advancing breakthroughs in neuroscience to elevate life. For 30 years we have been working at the forefront of healthcare to bring vital solutions to people who need them most. We developed and commercialized the first and only FDA-approved drug to treat hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson’s disease psychosis and the first and only FDA-approved drug for the treatment of Rett syndrome. Our clinical-stage development efforts are focused on Prader-Willi syndrome, Alzheimer’s disease psychosis and multiple other programs targeting neuropsychiatric symptoms in central nervous system disorders. For more information, visit us at Acadia.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. View source version on businesswire.com: Contacts Investor Contact: Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. Al Kildani (858) 261-2872 ir@acadia-pharm.com Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. Jessica Tieszen (858) 261-2950 ir@acadia-pharm.com Media Contact: Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. Deb Kazenelson (818) 395-3043 media@acadia-pharm.com Source: Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. View this news release online at: