BioSpace Movers and Shakers for Oct. 15

Pfizer – As global pharma giant Pfizer prepares for Albert Bourla to take over the reins of Pfizer from Chief Executive Officer Ian Read, the company has provided information on its senior leadership team.

The new leadership team includes:

• Frank D’Amelio – Serving as both chief financial officer and head of global supply and business operations, D’Amelio will also head up manufacturing operations for the company’s global supply chain.
• Mikael Dolsten – The new chief medical officer for Pfizer, Dolsten will also oversee the company’s worldwide research and development efforts.
• Michael Goettler - Goettler will lead the company’s established medicines business that will operate as an autonomous, stand-alone unit within Pfizer.
• Angela Hwang – Currently serving as group president of Pfizer Innovative Medicines, Hwang will become the group president of Pfizer’s science-based Innovative business responsible for the entire portfolio of innovative medicines.
• Rady Johnson – Johnson will continue to serve Pfizer in the role of the company’s chief compliance officer.
• Doug Lankler – He will continue in his role as the company’s General Counsel.
• Freda Lewis-Hall –Lewis-Hall will take on the role of Pfizer’s Chief Patient Officer. In this role, Lewis-Hall will deploy the company’s resources to advocate on behalf of all patients who rely on Pfizer to deliver new therapies and vaccines.
• Rod MacKenzie – As chief development officer, Pfizer said MacKenzie will expand his responsibilities to include Pfizer’s regulatory affairs function in addition to all late-stage development activities.
• Dawn Rogers – Rogers will continue to lead the Human Resources team as chief human resources officer.
• Sally Susman – Susman will continue to serve Pfizer ad the company’s chief corporate affairs officer.
• John Young – Chief Business Officer John Young will assume a new role. He will be responsible for strategy, business development, portfolio management and valuation activities; business analytics and global commercial operations. Also, he will oversee patient and health impact. Pfizer’s Consumer Healthcare business will report to Young.

Merck Research Laboratories – Nicholas Haining will join Merck Research Laboratories in January 2019, as vice president of Oncology for Discovery, Preclinical and Early Development. Haining joins Merck from Harvard Medical School where he served as an Associate Professor of Pediatrics. At Harvard, the Haining lab, based at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute, focused on understanding the regulation of T cell exhaustion, and investigating the mechanisms by which tumor cells evade the immune system. He will be based in Boston at Merck Research Laboratories located in Cambridge’s Kendall Square neighborhood.

Rheos Medicine – Cambridge, Mass.-based Rheos Medicine named Gad Soffer as its new chief operating officer. As COO, Soffer will be responsible for leading the company’s business strategy, corporate development and operations and external relations. Soffer joins Rheos from Atara Biotherapeutics, where he was Chief Strategy Officer. Prior to Atara, he worked at Celgene as executive director and Global Project Leader. He also served as Director of Business Development at Celgene. In addition to Soffer, J. Duncan Higgons joined the company board of directors. Higgons currently serves as a member of the boards of directors for PsiOxus Therapeutics and Jounce Therapeutics. He recently served as Chief Operating Officer of Agios Pharmaceuticals.

Clovis Oncology – Boulder, Colo.-based Clovis Oncology named Robert W. Azelby and Richard A. Fair to the company’s Board of Directors. Azelby has served as the president and chief executive officer, and a member of the board of directors, of Alder BioPharmaceuticals, Inc. since June of this year. Azelby previously served as chief commercial officer of Juno Therapeutics and also held leadership roles at Amgen. Fair has served as president and CEO, and a member of the board of directors, of Bellicum Pharmaceuticals since January 2017. Prior to Bellicum, Fair served as Therapeutic Head Oncology Global Product Strategy at Genentech.

Harpoon Therapeutics - Julie Eastland, the chief financial and business officer of BioClin Therapeutics, was named to the board of directors of South San Francisco-based Harpoon Therapeutics. She previously served as CFO and CBO of Cascadian Therapeutics.

Trevi Therapeutics – Anne M. VanLent has been named to the board of directors at New Haven, Conn.-based Trevi Therapeutics. VanLent will serve as chairwoman of the Audit Committee. She is currently president of AMV Advisors, a strategic advisory firm for the life science industry. VanLent has held senior executive and financial leadership roles with Barrier Therapeutics, Inc., Sarnoff Corporation (a division of SRI International), Trophix and The Liposome Company, Inc. VanLent sits on the boards of Vaxart, Inc. and Advanced Genetic Technologies, Inc.

CytoSen Therapeutics – Jason Wilson, the chief financial officer of Reata Pharmaceuticals has been named to the board of directors at Dallas-based CytoSen Therapeutics. CytoSen Chairman Philip R. McKee said the company needs experienced leadership at the board level to “successfully implement our strategy and take advantage of the market opportunities ahead.” Prior to Reata, Wilson held positions as vice president of Finance & Corporate Controller at Caris Dx.

Aigenpulse Ltd. – Oxford, U.K.-based Aigenpulse named Satnam Surae as its new chief product officer. Surae, the first employee at Aigenpulse when he joined in October 2016, most recently held the role of Lead Computational Biologist. The appointment is part of Aigenpulse’s strategy for growth in the biotech sector, the company said.

Relay Therapeutics – Linda A. Hill was named to the board of directors of Cambridge, Mass.-based Relay Therapeutics. She is a member of the board of directors of Harvard Business Publishing and the Global Citizens Initiative, Inc.