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 Darren Incorvaia or Gabrielle Masson and it will be featured here at the end of each week.
Cue Biopharma queues up J&J vet as CBO
Cue Biopharma
After 25 years at Johnson & Johnson and 30 in the industry, Lucinda Warren is moving on to new pastures at Cue Biopharma as its first chief business officer. The position follows her most recent 10-year stint as J&J’s VP of business development for neuroscience and Japan regionally. Warren’s appointment comes after T-cell focused Cue’s recent restructuring, which resulted in the prioritization of the company’s preclinical autoimmune portfolio over its clinical-stage oncology drugs and layoffs that impacted 25% of its workforce. Release
Transgene taps 2 new oncology leaders
Transgene
Immuno-oncology biotech Transgene is bringing two new cancer experts into its C-suite. Emmanuelle Dochy, M.D., will replace the retiring Maud Brandely, Ph.D., as chief medical officer, while Maurizio Ceppi, Ph.D., is the new chief scientific officer, replacing Eric Quéméneur, Ph.D., who is pursuing other interests. Dochy was most recently a leader of the tyrosine kinase inhibitors oncology franchise and scientific partnership at Bayer; before that, she was in leadership at Sanofi. Ceppi has previously served in top jobs at Roche and iTeos Therapeutics. Release
Cassava looks to steady ship with new CEO
Cassava Sciences
Cassava Sciences, an Alzheimer’s-disease-focused company recently besieged by a scientific misconduct scandal, is promoting interim chief executive Richard Barry to CEO. Barry became executive chairman of the board and principal executive officer of the company after former CEO Remi Barbier departed in July, along with senior vice president of neuroscience Lindsay Burns, Ph.D. Barry’s prior role as executive chairman will now be filled by Claude Nicaise, M.D., who has been a director at Cassava since December 2023 and has previously served in senior positions at Alexion Pharmaceuticals and Bristol Myers Squibb. Release
> Nasal spray maker Leyden Labs tapped former Moderna executive Jintanat Ananworanich, M.D., Ph.D., as its new CMO. Release
> Mark Pollack, M.D., is moving from the advisory board to the CMO role at Reunion Neuroscience, replacing current CMO Robert Alexander, M.D. Release
> As a part of its ongoing cost-cutting scheme, FibroGen is letting go of its CFO Juan Graham and its CMO Deyaa Adib, M.D., effective later this year. Filing
> Aardvark Therapeutics created two new roles, including a CMO slot that will be filled by former ViaCyte CMO Manasi Sinha Jaiman, M.D.
> Forge Biologics’ chief commercial officer John Maslowski will take over the CEO seat from co-founder Timothy Miller, Ph.D., upon Miller’s October retirement. Release
> Simon Tsang, Ph.D., is bringing his dealmaking expertise to HC Bioscience as the company’s new chief business officer. Release
> Opthea is bidding adieu to CFO Peter Lang, who will be replaced in the interim by Danforth Advisors’ Daniel Geffken, and CMO Judith Robertson, who is succeeded by Mike Campbell. Release
> Sergio Santillana, M.D., was named Solu Therapeutics’ new CMO as the company prepares to submit its first new drug application this year. Release
> AI-based biotech Charm Therapeutics is bringing Beverley Carr, Ph.D., former interim CEO of Amphista Therapeutics, on board as chief business officer. Release
> Jordan Shin, M.D., Ph.D., is the new chief medical officer at Haya Therapeutics, a company developing RNA medicines for chronic diseases. Release
> Alchemab Therapeutics is promoting co-founder and chief scientific officer Jane Osbourn, Ph.D., to CEO, replacing Young Kwon, Ph.D. Release
> Italian gene therapy firm Genespire has named Lysogene founder and former top exec Karen Aiach-Pignet as CEO, succeeding Julia Berretta, Ph.D. Release