→ 
Zymeworks
used
 a poison pill maneuver a couple weeks ago as the counterpunch to a $773 million 
takeover bid
 by 
All Blue Falcons
, and new CEO 
Kenneth Galbraith
 isn’t done piecing the staff together either.
Paul Moore
 will end his 14-year association with 
MacroGenics
, where he was VP, cell biology, and immunology, and 
step up
 to the plate as CSO of Zymeworks on July 18. 
Tony Polverino
, the chief scientist who preceded Moore, didn’t escape the sweeping 
changes
 that were enacted by Galbraith in January, when half the C-suite and 25% of the staff overall received pink slips. 
Neil Klompas
 and 
Neil Josephson
 were named COO and CMO, respectively, and 
Chris Astle
 took over as CFO a month later.
→ 
Pearl Huang
 — one of our Women in Biopharma R&D 
honorees
 from 2020 — is a CEO again, 
this time
 at Cambridge, UK, protein degradation biotech 
Dunad Therapeutics
. Huang was 
Roche
’s head of therapeutic modalities until 2018 and became CEO of 
Flagship
’s exoneural biology company 
Cygnal Therapeutics
 a short time later. When Flagship 
combined
Inzen
 and 
Cygnal
 to form 
Sonata Therapeutics
 in mid-May, 
Volker Herrmann
 was named chief executive, leaving Huang to explore other options. She lands at Dunad after 
Novartis
inked
 a $1.3+ billion deal with the startup in November 2021.
→ Hoping to revitalize a pipeline that has yet to see an FDA approval in its 20-plus year history, 
Inovio
has tapped
Michael Sumner
 as CMO, joining new chief executive 
Jacqueline Shea
. For the last nine years, Sumner was medical chief for Swedish biotech 
Orexo
, and he’s worked in medical affairs for 
Shire
 and 
Novo Nordisk
. A month ago, Shea 
took over
 for 
Joseph Kim
 after Inovio hit multiple potholes with its Covid-19 vaccine, leading to a different approach with
 INO-4800
 as a heterologous booster.
→ There’s a lot to sift through at the US-Danish cancer biotech
 Allarity Therapeutics
, 
starting with
 CEO 
Steve Carchedi
, who has yielded the top spot to CBO 
James Cullem
 on an interim basis. Cullem had been SVP of corporate development for seven years before ascending to the role of business chief in December. CFO
 Jens Knudsen
 is also out, and Allarity has lined up director of financial reporting 
Joan Brown
 to pinch-hit. Meanwhile,
 Thomas Jensen
 — who co-founded the company in 2004 — will now be SVP of investor relations after two years as SVP, information technology. Allarity’s board “expects to name a permanent CEO and CFO in H1 2023,” according to the press release.
→ The unrelenting job cuts in the industry haven’t spared hit eye disease-focused 
Oyster Point Pharma
, which will scrap about 50 employees as part of its new “
streamlining plan
.” Changes have filtered into the senior leadership too as 
Genentech
 alum 
John Snisarenko
 — the chief commercial officer since 2019 — heads into retirement, while sales and commercial operations VP 
Michael Campbell
 becomes head of commercial. Elsewhere at Oyster Point, 
Daniel Lochner
 will also tackle the role of CBO in addition to his CFO duties.
→ In October 2021, 
The Carlyle Group
 jumped on the AI bandwagon alongside the investment arms of 
Pfizer
, 
Merck
, 
Amgen
 and 
McKesson
 with the $430 million 
buyout
 of cloud-based 
Saama Technologies
. Saama’s founding CEO 
Suresh Katta
 has now stepped aside after 25 years and will transition to the role of chairman emeritus as 
Vivek Sharma
takes control
 at the California AI player. Sharma has been a chief executive before with 
Decision Resources Group
, 
Piramal Pharma Solutions
 and more recently, 
Adare Pharma Solutions
. In addition to his new title at Saama, Katta will also be an advisor for Carlyle.
→ Firing back at the FDA with a formal dispute resolution 
request
 for its epidermolysis bullosa drug 
Filsuvez
, 
Amryt Pharma
has promoted
 Tracy Cunningham
 to CMO. Cunningham is a 
Sanofi
 alum who had been clinical lead for 
selumetinib
 — now marketed as 
Koselugo
 — with 
AstraZeneca
 before making her way to Amryt as head of development in 2020. Earlier, Cunningham held medical affairs roles at 
Novartis
 and 
GSK
.
→ As for Cunningham’s predecessor, he only has to switch out a few letters: 
Mark Sumeray
 has left Amryt 
to become
 CMO at 
Amolyt Pharma
, a French-American endocrine disease biotech 
that filled
 the piggy bank with an $80 million Series B round in September 2021. Before his six years as CMO at Amryt, Sumeray was the medical chief for 
Aegerion Pharmaceuticals
 and VP, US cardiovascular and metabolic medical affairs with 
Bristol Myers Squibb
.
→ To accommodate its entry into the clinical trial business, 
as reported
 from Cannes last week, 
Walgreens
has lined up
 a string of hires, with chief clinical trials officer 
Ramita Tandon
 batting leadoff. Other appointments include: 
Kendal Whitlock
 (head of digital optimization, real world evidence clinical trials), 
John Campbell
 (head of decentralized clinical trials),
 Liam Wood
 (head of product, clinical trials) and 
Adam Samson
 (head of clinical delivery operations, clinical trials).
→ 
Thierry Guillaudeux
has been promoted
 to CSO of Seattle-based 
Kineta
, which 
merged
 with 
Tony Coles
’ Parkinson’s play 
Yumanity
 in early June. A longtime professor at the University of Rennes 1 in France, Guillaudeux came to Kineta as SVP, immuno-oncology in 2019 and has helped develop its immunotherapy candidate
 KVA12.1
, an IgG1 monoclonal antibody.
→ Cambridge, MA-based 
GV20 Therapeutics
is locking in
Shirley Liu
 as CEO and bringing in duo 
Steven Landau
 and 
Ying Gong
 as CMO and CBO, respectively. Liu co-founded GV20 in 2016, having previously served as professor of biostatistics and computational biology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. Meanwhile, Landau formerly ran operations as CMO at 
Shape Pharmaceuticals
 and 
Tensha
Therapeutics
, while Gong most recently served as project team leader for oncology at Genentech.
→ 
Eric Sullivan
has been appointed
 CFO at next-gen T cell outfit 
TCR² Therapeutics
. Sullivan, a 
bluebird
 and 
Merrimack
 vet, served as president, CFO and COO at 
Triplet Therapeutics
, and has also served as SVP at 
Gemini Therapeutics
 and 
Oncorus
 prior to joining TCR², which is developing its lead program 
gavo-cel
 in several indications.
→ Hematologic disease biotech 
Forma Therapeutics
will gain
 two execs on July 11: 
Agustín Melián
 (head of R&D) left 
AlloVir
 at the end of 2021 and was the 
Diana Brainard
-led biotech’s first CMO. Prior to this, he spent 13 years at Merck and was SVP in global clinical development and medical sciences. 
Linea Aspesi
 (chief human resources officer) is a 
Sanofi Genzyme
 alum who held the same position at 
Saniona
 and led HR at 
Sobi
.
→ 
Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals
has handed over
 the CEO hat to 
Marco
Polizzi
. Prior to his new role, Polizzi was the founder and CEO of 
Oakrum
Pharma
. Polizzi has had a long career spanning roles at 
Casper Pharma
 (EVP commercial operations and business development), 
Sandoz
 (head of sales and marketing institutional), 
Mallinckrodt
 (VP/GM) and 
Teva
.
→ San Diego-based RNA player 
DTx Pharma
has locked in
Peter Condon
 as CBO. From 2018-21, Condon was head of business development and alliance management at
 Gossamer Bio
, and after 10 years at Genentech, he held the role of executive director, business development at 
Alexion
 and 
Google
’s anti-aging upstart 
Calico
.
→ 
Sosei Heptares
 CBO 
James Taylor
 has left 
to fill
 the same position at
 Achilles Therapeutics
, a T cell player that 
went public
 on the strength of a $175.5 million IPO in the spring of 2021. (Remember those?) Taylor was also a senior director of business development at GSK and held posts at 
AstraZeneca
, 
Summit Therapeutics
 and 
Cellzome
. Achilles has also added Cassian Yee, a professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, to its scientific advisory board.
→ We told you about 
Jotin Marango
leaving
Aptose
 for 
Ikena Oncology
 in April, and this week 
Fletcher Payne
has replaced
 Marango as CFO. Payne heads to Aptose after nearly three years as finance chief at 
Syapse
, and he’s also been CFO at 
Plexxikon
, 
CytomX
 and the 
now-shuttered
Catalyst Biosciences
. Aptose’s lead asset, 
HM43239
, is in a Phase I/II trial for relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia.
→ Now focused on indications like rheumatoid arthritis and hidradenitis suppurativa with 
zunsemetinib
 after misfiring in alopecia areata with 
ATI-502
, 
Aclaris Therapeutics
has selected
Gail Cawkwell
 as CMO. Cawkwell, the ex-CMO and special advisor to the board of directors at 
Purdue Pharma
, spent the last four years as the SVP, medical affairs, safety & pharmacovigilance for 
Intercept
, and she also worked on 
Xeljanz
 in her 14 years with Pfizer. Cawkwell’s predecessor,
 David Gordon
, stepped aside at Aclaris on Jan. 7.
→ 
Cellino
’s “GMP-in-a-box” idea made a believer out of 
Leaps by Bayer
, 
leading
 the $80 million Series A in January. Fast forward to this week, where Cellino 
has named
Abhijit Kulkarni
 as COO and 
Paulette Dillon
 as CBO. Kulkarni had led the Neuromodulation Technology Development Center at 
Medtronic
, while Dillon co-founded and was SVP of corporate development at recently downsized 
Atreca
. “Their vision is to be a cell manufacturing foundry, where you can produce targeted cells at a fraction of the cost,” 
Jürgen Eckhardt
, the head of Leaps by Bayer, said of Cellino.
→ 
NGM Biopharmaceuticals
 — which 
has collaborated
 with Merck — 
has announced
 that its CFO 
Siobhan Nolan Mangini
 will be taking over as president on top of her current duties. Mangini joined NGM in July 2016 and hailed from 
Castlight Health
, where she was president and CFO. Additionally, 
William
Rieflin
, NGM’s executive chairman and former CEO, is transitioning to the role of chairman on NGM’s board of directors.
→ Peer Review has learned that 
64x Bio
, the 
George Church
 gene therapy manufacturing startup run by a 
20 under 40
 honoree from this year (
Lex Rovner
), has installed 
Christopher Hoppe
 as head of operations. Hoppe joins from 
Nektar
, where he was clinical, operational, and strategic advancement lead for the biotech’s cytokine portfolio.
→ 
Scott Batty
has joined
 autoimmune disease biotech 
Artax Biopharma
 as CMO. Batty, the ex-global director of medical affairs for the belatacept immunosuppression program at Bristol Myers, had previously been VP of regulatory and scientific affairs for 
CTI
. He has also served as VP of global medical affairs for Genzyme’s transplant and oncology group.
→
 Launa Aspeslet
is settling in
 as COO of 
Hepion Pharmaceuticals
, a New Jersey biotech using AI to develop therapies for NASH and hepatocellular carcinoma. Aspeslet had helmed 
Translational Research in Oncology
, a clinical research organization out of Edmonton with offices in Paris and Montevideo, Uruguay, since 2015. She vaulted to COO of another Edmonton-based company, 
Isotechnika Pharma
, before it was sold to 
Aurinia
 nine years ago.
In other Hepion news, corporate strategy execs 
Anand Reddi
 (
Adverum
) and 
Kaouthar Lbiati
 (
Cytovia
) 
have earned
 their seats on the board of directors.
→ 
Dermira
 vet 
Luis Peña
 and his crew at 
Evommune
have welcomed
 Greg Moss
 as chief corporate strategy and legal officer; he’ll also juggle the roles of corporate secretary and chief compliance officer at the inflammatory disease biotech. Moss comes to Evommune after a decade at Sanofi subsidiary 
Kadmon
, where he was general counsel & corporate secretary, chief compliance officer. This isn’t the first Kadmon alum to become part of Evommune’s leadership: Ex-chief accounting officer 
Kyle Carver
has been CFO
 at Evommune since March.
→ Person to Person: 
Natalie Holles
 is gradually fleshing out her team at Third Harmonic Bio with a new CFO (
Robert Ho
), CSO (
Adrian Ray
) and CMO (
Edward Conner
). This week
 Julie Person
, who comes from 
ARCH
’s “Really Big Neuroscience Company” named 
Neumora
, 
is on board
 as chief administrative officer. Person spent a year as VP of human resources at 
Sangamo
 after her time as global head of talent management at Shire, and then had a brief run at Holles’ former company, 
Audentes
, prior to her appointment as Neumora’s chief people officer.
→ 
Peter Leddy
has made his way
 to San Diego-based 
Maravai LifeSciences
 as chief administrative officer. Prior to joining Maravai, Leddy had such roles as chief human resources officer at 
Berkeley Lights
, chief people officer at 
dosist
 and EVP, global human resources and corporate integrity at 
Nuvasive
.
→ The leadership changes at 
Zentalis
 haven’t decelerated as the Pfizer partner 
brings in
Andrea Paul
 as general counsel and corporate secretary on Aug. 1. Paul, who filled legal roles at 
Momenta
 and 
Akebia Therapeutics
, had recently been general counsel and corporate secretary for a year at 
LogicBio
. Back in May, 
Kimberly Blackwell
succeeded
Anthony Sun
 as Zentalis’ CEO, while co-founder 
Cam Gallagher
 was elevated to president.
→ Synthetic biology player and Roche IBD partner 
Synlogic
has promoted
Brendan St. Amant
 to general counsel and corporate secretary. Named VP, head of legal at Synlogic in July 2021, St. Amant was senior counsel at 
Vertex
 before moving to the now-defunct Flagship company
 Ohana Biosciences
 as VP of legal in 2019.
→ What’s new at 
NeuBase
? COO 
William Mann
is tacking on
 the title of president to his current duties. Prior to his current stint, Mann was CEO and president of 
Helsinn Therapeutics
 and held roles at 
Sapphire Therapeutics
 and Novartis.
→ London-based 
Resolution Therapeutics
is bringing aboard
Amol Ketkar
 as chief development officer. Ketkar had a 21-year gig at GSK, most recently serving as VP, product development and supply for the company’s cell and gene therapy CMC group.
→ 
Elevar Therapeutics
 out of Salt Lake City 
is bringing in some new faces
 with the appointments of 
Jan Van Tornout
 as CMO and 
Gordon Schooley
 as chief regulatory officer. Van Tornout previously served as CMO of 
Tyme Technologies
 while Schooley jumps aboard after a seven-year run with 
BeyondSpring
.
→ Peer Review has been informed that Cambridge, MA medtech 
Cognito Therapeutics
 has enlisted
 Steven Maxim
 as director of manufacturing. Maxim owned the same title at 
Avedro
 (purchased by 
Glaukos
 in 2019) and has further manufacturing experience from
 IPG Medical
 and 
Palomar Medical Technologies
.
→ Gossamer Bio founder, CEO and chairman 
Faheem Hasnain
is adding another board appointment
 to his résumé with his latest chairman stint at 
Sling
Therapeutics
. Currently, Hasnain sits on the board of 
Kura Oncology
 and serves as chairman of the board for 
Aspen
Neuroscience
, 
Mirati Therapeutics
 and 
SENTÉ
.
→ With its NDA for 
vamorolone
 getting 
shelved
 for four to six months because of contract manufacturing hurdles, Swiss biotech 
Santhera
has named
Thomas Meier
 chairman of the board, replacing 
Elmar Schnee
 on Thursday. Meier, the chief executive at Santhera from 2011-19, has been a board member since 2017 and is managing partner at 
Viopas Venture Consulting
 in Zurich.
→ Former HHS Secretary and Wisconsin Gov.
 Tommy Thompson
has been named
 Covid-19 special consultant to CEO
 Henry Ji
 at 
Sorrento Therapeutics
. The 80-year-old Thompson was recently at his alma mater as interim president of the University of Wisconsin System from July 2020 to March 2022.
→ 
Striking
 a $1.25 billion 
Gavreto
 deal with
 Royalty Pharma
 and a separate pact with
 Sixth Street,
Blueprint Medicines
has reserved space
 for 
Habib Dable
 on to the board of directors. Dable had a 22-year career at 
Bayer
 before his CEO stint at 
Acceleron
, which was sold to Merck last fall for $11.5 billion.
→ 
Meenu Karson
has succeeded
 Kenneth Fong
 as chair of the board at 
Apexigen
, which is merging with 
Brookline Capital Acquisition Corp.
 despite a battered market. The ex-
Proteostasis Therapeutics
 chief is also on the board of directors at 
Fore Biotherapeutics
.
→ 
Surface Oncology
is welcoming
Carsten Brunn
 to its ranks by pulling out a seat for the former 
Selecta
 CEO and president on its board of directors. Brunn formerly served in leadership roles at Bayer (president of pharmaceuticals for the Americas region), Eli Lilly, Novartis, 
Basilea
 and 
Bausch and
Lomb
. Brunn currently sits on the board of BIO.
→ 
Led
 by GSK alum 
Jack Bailey
, 
Cosela
 maker
 G1 Therapeutics
has added
Jacks Lee
 to the board of directors. After 19 years at Sanofi, Lee has been with Merck since 2007 and is the pharma giant’s SVP, manufacturing & supply.
→ Chaired by former HHS Secretary and ex-Kansas Gov. 
Kathleen Sebelius
, 
Laura Niklason
-led 
Humacyte
has added
 Biopharma Excellence
 co-founder and former CEO 
Diane Seimetz
 to the board of directors. Seimetz also serves on the board at 
Cumulus Oncology
.
→ 
Axel-Sven Malkomes
 and 
Donald Bergstrom
are the newest additions
 to the board of directors at 
Cellectis
. Malkomes, a 
Barclays
 vet, was CFO and CBO of 
Medigene
 from 2019 until the end of March. Bergstorm has been a board observer at Cellectis since November and is head of R&D at
 Relay Therapeutics
, which took the cover off its 
interim data
 for 
RLY-4008
 in patients with bile duct cancer this week.
→ UK-based 
Genflow Biosciences
is swapping out
 some of its board members and trading them in for 
Tamara Joseph
 (chief legal officer at 
Spero Therapeutics
) and 
Guy-Charles Fanneau
de la Horie
 (former chief executive at 
Euronext
Growth
). Joseph and Fanneau de la Horie succeed 
Gabrielle Silver
 and 
Andrew
Scott
, who are stepping down.
→ 
Aytu BioPharma
is pulling
Vivian Liu
 onto its board of directors. Liu currently serves as head of corporate affairs for 
PREMIA Holdings
 and previously held the titles of president, CEO and CFO of 
Innovus Pharmaceuticals
. Earlier in her career, Liu was president and CEO of 
FasTrack Pharmaceuticals
 and 
NexMed
.
→ 
Calidi
Biotherapeutics
has brought on
WK Alfred Yung
 to its medical advisory board. Yung is a professor, neuro-oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and advised President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative.