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.
Joe Biden reportedly tapping NCI chief Monica Bertagnolli to lead NIH
National Institutes of Health
President Joe Biden will tap the current head of the National Cancer Institute and former cancer surgeon Monica Bertagnolli, M.D., to lead the National Institutes of Health, according to news reports. The move elevates the first permanent replacement for the federal institute after Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., retired in December 2021.
The significance of the position can hardly be overstated. The federal institute is charged with spending roughly $45 billion every year on research around the country and the globe that spurs new insights into diseases and potential therapies. Part of that money is spent on the NIH itself and the research conducted by the smaller institutes that make it up, like the National Institutes for Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Cancer Institute.
Bertagnolli’s move to NIH is made more significant after she was just tapped to lead the NCI in August 2022. A few months later, in December, she announced that she had been diagnosed with early breast cancer. The chain of events has made Bertagnolli a visceral representation of the administration’s larger cancer moonshot initiative, which aims to cut cancer death rates by 50% over the next 25 years. The White House has yet to formally announce its intent to nominate Bertagnolli as NIH director. The Washington Post
Roy Vagelos to retire from Regeneron’s board after 29 years
Regeneron
Regeneron board chairman Roy Vagelos, M.D., is retiring after more than 29 years steering the company, marking the end of a marathon career. He helped lead the company through a massive transition in the mid-90s, from a company focused solely on central nervous system disorders to tackling a broader swath of diseases.
Vagelos came aboard in 1995 less than a year after retiring from Merck & Co., where he helped grow the company's revenue fourfold to $15 billion. He had his work cut out for him at Regeneron, however. The company did land its first commercial product until 2008 when Arcalyst was approved to treat cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes. Three year’s later, Regeneron found its first blockbuster, Eylea. The drug raked in more than $6 billion in U.S. sales in 2022.
Emblematic of how woven into Regeneron’s fabric Vagelos was, the company is replacing him with its co-founders CEO Len Schleifer, M.D., Ph.D., and president and chief scientific officer George Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D. Fierce Pharma
HI-Bio names AstraZeneca leader as chief medical officer
HI-Bio
Fresh off releasing phase 2 data, HI-Bio has landed on a clinical chief, naming Uptal Patel, M.D., for the role. He joins from AstraZeneca where he was the head of clinical renal and executive group director of early cardiovascular, renal and metabolism.
Prior to joining AstraZeneca in January 2021, Patel spent nearly five years at Gilead as executive director of clinical research. A portion of that time was also spent as a board observer for Goldfinch Bio, helping oversee a collaboration between the now-shuttered biotech and Gilead. Patel has also taught at Duke University for almost 18 years, now working as an adjunct professor.
His appointment at HI-Bio comes after the company highlighted new phase 2 data of its autoimmune treatment felzartamab for patients with primary membranous nephropathy. The company found that the med was safe and spurred a durable reduction in a biomarker for the disease. HI-Bio licensed felzartamab from MorphoSys along with a near-clinical stage med, HIB210. Release
> Ocuphire Pharma has terminated President, Founder and CEO Mina Sooch, according to SEC filings. No reasoning was given in the documents. The board has tapped Richard Rodgers, a board member, to serve as interim leader for the time being. Release
> After Amarin’s former CEO Karim Mikhail’s resignation, the drugmaker has named a temporary replacement. Aaron Berg is moving up from his role as EVP and president of Amarin’s U.S. operations to be interim CEO, effective immediately. Fierce Pharma
> Talaris Therapeutics is laying off 95% of its staff, including almost every member of its C-suite. CEO Scott Requadt, Chief Medical Officer Nancy Krieger, M.D., Chief Technology Officer Michael Zdanowski and Chief Human Resources Officer Andrew Farnsworth are departing, while Chief Financial Officer Mary Kay Fenton is staying on. Fierce Biotech
> Allogene Therapeutics Chief Technical Officer Alison Moore, Ph.D., has resigned. The board has selected Kite Pharma's Tim Moore to serve as EVP and CTO starting April 24. Release
> Alzheimer’s-focused Cognito Therapeutics has tapped Ralph Kern, M.D., to serve as chief medical officer and promoted Kim Kwan to be the company’s chief technology officer. Kern has more than 30 years of experience in the industry, holding spots at Genzyme, Novartis, Biogen and BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, while Kwan joined Cognito in 2018 as VP of engineering. Fierce Medtech
> Nick Kozauer, M.D., has joined Biohaven, stepping into the role of SVP of clinical development and regulatory strategy. Before Biohaven, Kozauer served at the FDA, most recently as director of the neurology division in the Office of New Drugs. Release
> Abata Therapeutics has tapped Leonard “Lenny” Dragone, M.D., Ph.D., to be chief medical officer, taking the spot from interim CMO, Abata co-founder and Third Rock Ventures Partner Richard Ransohoff, M.D. Dragone joins from Sonoma Biotherapeutics and previously held leadership roles at Janssen Biopharma, Merck Research Laboratories and Roche’s Genentech. Release
> Heron Therapeutics is bringing on a new leader as two executives depart. Former Chiesi sales exec Jason Grillot will step on as VP of sales and marketing for acute care next week, while President and Chief Commercial Officer John Poyhonen and SVP of Commercial for Acute Care Michael Mathews will both depart April 30. Release
> Danish ophthalmology company Breye Therapeutics is bringing on Peter Adamson, Ph.D., as chief scientific officer. Adamson has worked previously at GSK, ProQR and Tenpoint Therapeutics. Release
> Lars Nieba, Ph.D., is taking the helm of Swiss biotech Engimmune Therapeutics after co-Founder and former CEO Søren Mouritsen, M.D., steps down. Nieba has held various roles across Big Pharma and VCs such as Roche, Bayer and Pureos Bioventures. Release
> NRG Therapeutics has selected Vad Lazari, Ph.D., to serve in the newly created role of VP of biology. Lazari joins the neuroscience company from Charles River and also has drug discovery experience from Pfizer and BioFocus DPI. Release
> U.K.-based OMass Therapeutics is ushering in a new phase of growth that includes new facilities and employees. One of those employees is Winfried Barchet, Ph.D., who joins from IFM Therapeutics and has also worked at Roche and will serve as VP of immunology for OMass. Release
> Michael Ferguson is taking up the role as Abivax’s chief commercial officer, with former CCO Pierre Courteille transitioning to become chief business officer. Ferguson has more than two decades of industry experience, including roles at Shire/Takeda and Arena Therapeutics. Release
> California-based Ocelot Bio has brought on Lise Kjems, M.D., Ph.D., to serve as chief medical officer, taking the reins from founding CSO and CMO Stan Bukofzer, M.D. Kjems joins from Cyclo Therapeutics, where she was also CMO, and has worked at Aldeyra Therapeutics, Intarcia Therapeutics, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson and Novartis. Release
> KBI Biopharma and Selexis, two companies that fall under JSR Life Sciences’ umbrella, have appointed J.D. Mowery as CEO. Mowery’s track record includes companies such as Roche’s Genentech, Celgene, Juno, Treadwell Therapeutics, Lonza and AGC Biologics. Release