Biopharma and life sciences companies strengthen their leadership teams and board with these Movers and Shakers.
Disc Medicine – Jonathan Yu was named senior vice president of Corporate Strategy and William Savage was tapped as head of Clinical Development at Cambridge, Mass.-based Disc Medicine. Together, they will work to build the company’s portfolio and advance its pipeline of hepcidin pathway modulators toward the clinic to treat serious hematologic diseases. Prior to joining Disc Medicine, Mr. was a co-founder and head of Corporate Strategy, Finance and Operations for Qpex Biopharma. He has also served in various leadership roles at The Medicines Company, Acceleron Pharma, SR One, and Johnson & Johnson. Before joining Disc Medicine, Savage served as Senior Medical Director at Magenta Therapeutics. Prior to Magenta, he was the Global Clinical Development Lead in Hematology at Shire/Takeda.
Perkins Coie – Stephen C. Ferruolo joined Perkins Coie’s Emerging Companies & Venture Capital (ECVC) practice as a partner in the San Diego office. Ferruolo will focus his practice on the life sciences sector, representing private and publicly held biotech, pharmaceutical, medical device and digital health companies, as well as technology companies, investors, and venture capitalists.
Zealand Pharma– Denmark-based Zealand Pharma A/S appointed Mads Kronborg as Head of Investor Relations and Communication. Kronborg brings more than a decade of corporate communication experience from his time at H. Lundbeck A/S, where he served as Head of Corporate Communication and earlier as Corporate Media Relations Manager. During his time with H. Lundbeck, Kronborg helped communicate several acquisitions and integrations of other companies, supported numerous global product launches, and drove the strategy for corporate communications. In addition, he was heavily involved in the company’s quarterly and annual financial communication.
Humanigen – California-based Humanigen, Inc. tapped Timothy E. Morris to serve in the newly created role of Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. In addition to his CFO responsibilities, Morris will be responsible for manufacturing and supply chain, corporate and business development, investor and public relations and human resources. Morris most recently served as CFO of Iovance, leading the company’s raise of over $1 billion in equity, including a recent $600 million secondary offering. Morris has been a member of the Humanigen Board of Directors since 2016. In connection with this appointment, he has stepped down from his board position at the company.
Romaco Holding GmbH – Michael Van den Bossche has been appointed Managing Director of Romaco Innojet. He will share duties to run the company with Bastian Kading, who has been at the company’s helm since 2018. In this role, he will be responsible for Sales, Laboratory, Customer Service and Product Management.
CN Bio – Based in the U.K., CN Bio appointed James Craven as Chief Commercial Officer and Brian Manning as head of sales in the United States. Sarah Payne also joined the company as Product Marketing Manager. Following the completion of a $9 million funding round in February, the appointments will help drive CN Bio’s sales and business strategy, with a focus on further developing its U.S. customer base, the Company’s key market. Craven joins CN Bio from Brooks Life Sciences, where he developed and managed relationships with global pharmaceutical companies as Director of Market Strategy and Commercial Delivery. He has held senior management positions at TTP Labtech and Titian Software. Manning’s most recent role was at InSphero, as director of Business Development. Before that, he held key positions at Pfizer, DiscoverX, GenScript, and Cyclofluidic, where he was Vice President of Business Development in North America. Payne previously held senior marketing roles at leading life science companies, including SPT Labtech, most recently, and GE Healthcare.
Akouos – Alan Smith was named chief technology officer of Boston-based Akouos. Prior to Akouos, Smith was executive vice president, technical operations at Bellicum Pharmaceuticals. Before that, he was vice president of research and development and cellular therapeutics for LifeNet Health and its subsidiary, The Institute of Regenerative Medicine. In addition, the company announced that Saira Ramasastry has been appointed to its board of directors as audit committee chair, and board member Arthur Tzianabos has been appointed chairman of the board. Ramasastry is managing partner of Life Sciences Advisory, a firm that she founded to provide strategic advice and business development solutions for life science companies. Tzianabos is currently the chief executive officer and president of Homology Medicines, Inc., leading the efforts to develop genetic medicines for patients with rare genetic diseases. Previously, Tzianabos spent nine years at Shire Plc.
PharmaLex Group – Germany-based PharmaLex Group named Sébastien Schmitt as its chief commercial officer. In this role, he will oversee all aspects of PharmaLex commercial activities, ensuring that our clients benefit from a truly integrated service offering. Schmitt joins PharmaLex following nearly a decade with ProductLife Group, where he headed the delivery and commercial organization.
MeiraGTx Holdings – Robert K. Zeldin was named chief medical officer of MeriaGTx Holdings plc. Prior to joining MeiraGTx, Zeldin was CMO of Immunovant. Before that, he was CMO of Acceleron Pharma. Previously he was CMO of Belgium-based Ablynx NV. He also held roles at Novartis, Stallergenes SA and Merck.
Arcturus Therapeutics – Lance Kurata was named chief legal officer of San Diego-based Arcturus Therapeutics. Kurata joins Arcturus from Mintz, where he was a partner in the Corporate Group and a member of the Life Sciences Practice Group.
Valneva SE – Juan Carlos Jaramillo was named CMO of France-based Valneva SE. He will succeed Wolfgang Bender, who will retire at the end of October. Jaramillo has a broad international experience, strong expertise in Medical Affairs and Clinical Development that includes vaccines, as well as Global Market Access. He has worked in various pharmaceutical/biotech organizations, including GlaxoSmithKline, Grünenthal and Daiichi Sankyo.
Ribometrix – N.C.-based Ribometrix tapped Barclay “Buck” Phillips as chief operating officer and chief financial officer. In his most recent role, Phillips served as CFO and senior vice president of corporate development at G1 Therapeutics. Prior to G1 Therapeutics, Phillips served as senior vice president, CFO and treasurer of Novavax. Before that, he was CFO at Micromet, a company acquired by Amgen in 2012.
