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.
Recursion makes big executive splash, plucking J&J’s chief data science officer
Recursion Pharmaceuticals
AI-infused drug developer Recursion Pharmaceuticals has hired Najat Khan, Ph.D., as chief commercial officer and head of R&D. She joins from Johnson & Johnson where she was chief data science officer and head of strategy and portfolio within the pharma R&D team.
It’s a major hire for the Utah-based biotech, indicative of the rising influence of artificial intelligence and machine learning in drug development efforts along with Recursion’s standing in that field. Few biotechs—or even pharmas for the matter—have invested as much as Recursion in making machine learning a foundation of its R&D. Recursion CEO Chris Gibson, Ph.D., said Khan “has a vision and passion for transforming drug discovery and development” that complements Recursion’s.
Khan chaired J&J’s data science council and helped scale the technology across the R&D organization. She is also a board member for the Alliance for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare. Release
Canaan adds former Pfizer R&D leader as new venture partner
Canaan Partners
Some week for Canaan Partners! The venture capital firm that splits its investments between healthcare and tech has hired Uwe Schoenbeck, Ph.D., as a new venture partner.
Schoenbeck has two decades of pharma experience, first at Boehringer Ingelheim before clocking his last 15 years at Pfizer. There, he led an early science wing of the R&D team, often working with academics and early-stage biotechs on collaborations and partnerships. Under his purview was the Centers for Therapeutic Innovation, a specific subunit that offered resources to physician-scientists working on possible therapeutic breakthroughs while still treating patients. But the CTI could not survive Pfizer’s recent multibillion-dollar cost-cutting effort, with existing projects being folded into other R&D teams.
Schoenbeck will be tasked with similar work at Canaan, this time offering private capital instead of pharma prowess. And the firm got a boost on that front as well, adding $100 million earmarked specifically for biotech bets. Fierce Biotech
Obesity-focused Metsera unveils all-star leadership team
Metsera
Obesity- and metabolic-disease-focused Metsera has emerged from stealth with one of 2024’s largest biotech fundraises thus far—$290 million—and a stacked team of industry veterans.
The clinical-stage company is led by Clive Meanwell, M.D., a British oncologist with an extensive industry track record that includes founding and leading The Medicines Company, a biotech that was acquired by Novartis for $9.7 billion in 2019. Meanwell has also held roles at Roche and MPM Capital, among others.
“The ‘dream team’ terminology is overused, but in this case, between the investors—led by Arch—and the management, we’re as close as you can get to that definition, honestly,” CEO Meanwell told Fierce Biotech.
Meanwell is joined by Stephen R. Bloom—a professor and head of diabetes, endocrinology and metabolism at Imperial College London—who serves as the senior vice president of R&D for Metsera. Previously, Bloom served as the executive chairman for Zihipp, a London-based diabetes and obesity biotech Metsera snapped up while in stealth.
Other team members include Brian Hubbard, Ph.D., a metabolic disease translational researcher who has worked at both Merck and Novartis and helms Anji Pharma; John Amatruda, M.D., who previously ran Merck’s diabetes and obesity franchise; and Whit Bernard, a co-founder and managing partner of Population Health Partners, a firm that helped launch Metsera.
Steven Marso, M.D., the principal author of the two The New England Journal of Medicine papers that put semaglutide (Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy) on the map, is also part of the leadership team at Metsera. Fierce Biotech
> Javier San Martin, M.D., has left his role as Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals’ chief medical officer for the same title at neurodegenerative-disorders-focused Athira Pharma. Before Arrowhead, San Martin held roles across Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, Alder Biopharmaceuticals, Amgen and Eli Lilly. Release
> Viatris has tapped Corinne Le Goff to serve as the pharma’s chief commercial officer. Prior to Viatris, Le Goff helmed clinical-stage biotech Imunon and served as Moderna’s chief commercial officer before that, where she helped build out capabilities for creating global access to Spikevax, the company’s COVID-19 vaccine. Release
> Innovent Biologics has chosen Nageatte Ibrahim, M.D., to serve as the biopharma’s oncology chief medical officer. Ibrahim left her role at Merck & Co. as VP of oncology and global clinical development for Innovent, where she will lead the oncology global clinical development program. Release
> Poseida’s former president of gene therapy Brent Warner has moved on to helm Protego Biopharma, a preclinical company aiming to develop small-molecule therapeutics for various systemic amyloid diseases. Before Poseida, Warner served as Novartis’ VP of gene therapy and rare diseases. Release
> Ocular Therapeutix President and CEO Antony Mattessich has stepped down, with Executive Chair Pravin Dugel, M.D., taking on the two leadership titles. One day after the CEO shake-up was announced, Ocular brought on a slew of new team members, tapping Nadia Waheed, M.D., to serve as chief medical officer, though Rabia Gurses Ozden, M.D., is still listed on the company’s website as CMO as of April 18. Meanwhile, Peter Kaiser, M.D., has been tapped to become chief development officer, while Chief Business Officer Chris White has been removed from the company’s leadership page. Release
> KBI Biopharma has chosen Jean-Baptiste Agnus to serve as the CDMO’s chief business officer. Before joining KBI, Agnus held leadership roles across AGC Biologics, Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services, Novasep and Isochem. Release
> Stoke Therapeutics has hired Jason Hoitt to step on as the company’s chief commercial officer. Hoitt joins from Provention Bio, where he held the same title and led all commercial activities for Tzield (teplizumab-mzwv), the first FDA-approved drug designed to address the underlying autoimmune cause of Type 1 diabetes. Release
> Clinical-stage cell therapy company Vittoria Biotherapeutics has tapped Keith Westby to be its inaugural chief operating officer. Before Vittoria, Westby held the same title at Astellas’ Iveric Bio. Release
> Morphoceuticals has hired Jim Jenson, Ph.D., as CEO. He was most recently the co-founder and CEO of CytoSite Biopharma after founding Novo Nordisk-bought Dicerna. Release
> Chris Krueger is taking on a new Endeavour as CCO. He joins Endeavour BioSciences following executive roles at other biotechs, including Ventyx Biosciences, Oppilan Pharma and Zomagen Bioscience. Release
> LEO Pharma’s head of U.S. commercial operations is leaving for Chiesi, the Italian pharma announced. Richard Smith will be VP and business leader for U.S. AIR. Release
> BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics is rejigging its executive team after pulling its approval application in October 2023. The company is hiring Bob Dagher as its new chief medical officer, and Stacy Lindborg is stepping down as co-CEO. Release
> Markus Rothmaier is joining Polaroid Therapeutics as its first head of R&D. He last was at IVF Hartmann AG designing bandages and wound dressings. Release
> Catherine Miller is sprinting toward Jaguar Health, taking a new gig as SVP of growth strategy. Miller was chief commercial officer at Vibrant Gastro before the new job. Release
> The START Center for Cancer Research has brought aboard Nick Slack as its CEO. The organization helps run preclinical and phase 1 studies for new cancer treatments. Release