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 Zoey Becker and it will be featured here at the end of each week.
Recursion refreshes leadership team with CEO swap
Recursion
Twelve years after establishing TechBio company Recursion, co-founder and CEO Chris Gibson, Ph.D., will soon step down to let Chief R&D and Commercial Officer Najat Khan, Ph.D., take the wheel. Khan’s CEO appointment will see her driving the next phase of the company’s growth and was a unanimous decision by Recursion’s board, with Gibson pointing to her “unique and exceptional” mix of “strategic insight, scientific rigor and bold vision.” The soon-to-be CEO came to Recursion last summer from Johnson & Johnson, where she had served as chief data science officer among other titles. Khan will begin in her new role Jan. 1, when Gibson will transition to the board chairman role while continuing as an interim executive advisor. Release
Ratio nabs Novartis vet as strategy chief
Ratio Therapeutics
Radiopharmaceutical specialist Ratio Therapeutics has nabbed some Big Pharma strategy expertise as it looks to advance its early-stage pipeline. Marcel Reichen, Ph.D., has joined the Boston company as chief strategy officer, after previously guiding radioligand business development at Novartis for the past two years. Before Novartis, Reichen advised Bayer executives on R&D strategy as a consultant with Bayer Business Consulting. Ratio will depend on Reichen’s “unique blend of scientific and commercial insight” as it tries to become a leader in precision oncology, the company’s CEO Jack Hoppin, Ph.D., said. Release
Draig looks to soar with new neuro CEO
Draig Therapeutics
Newly hatched neuropsych biotech Draig Therapeutics is taking flight with new CEO Ivana Magovčević-Liebisch, Ph.D. Magovčević-Liebisch is taking the reins from Ruth McKernan, Ph.D., who will stay on Draig’s board as a director. Draig emerged in June with a $140 million series A and plans to launch a phase 2 trial for depression candidate DT-101. Magovčević-Liebisch previously co-founded Vigil Neuroscience and led the company for five years until a May acquisition by Sanofi, which netted $470 million. Before Vigil, she served as executive vice president and chief business officer at Ipsen. Release
> Eli Lilly widened its executive team and promoted a slew of its leaders into expanded roles while bringing in a new hire to lead its neuroscience sector in Denali Therapeutics' longtime chief medical officer and head of development Carole Ho, M.D. Release
> Leo Pharma pulled a new EVP of development in Sophie Lamle, who switches over to the dermatology outfit after leading Teva’s global R&D innovative medicines team. Release
> Jeremy Sokolove, M.D., will take his two decades of leadership experience across biotech and Big Pharma alike to Vor Biopharma as its chief medical officer. Release
> Vivi Boura, M.D., Ph.D., is moving up the ranks after three years at Sotio Biotech, adapting the title of chief medical officer to replace her most recent appointment as deputy chief medical officer. Release
> Kevin Trapp is back at DBV Technologies to help with launch preparations for its peanut allergy patch, snatching back the chief commercial officer spot after previously stepping down in 2020. Release
> Aaron Koenig, M.D., is syncing up with synaptic-health-focused Syndeio Biosciences as chief medical officer. Release
> Neuronetics has begun the hunt for a successor to its CEO Keith Sullivan, who is set to retire next June after six years at the helm. Release
> New Jersey pharma Aquestive Therapeutics is shaking up its C-suite, tapping Matthew Davis, M.D., as chief development officer and promoting Peter Boyd to chief people officer. Chief Medical Officer Carl Kraus, M.D., meanwhile, is stepping down, with Gary Slatko, M.D., taking his place in the interim. Release
> Magnet Biomedicine has attracted Bharat Reddy, Ph.D., to guide its growth in the molecular glue space as chief business officer. Release
> Vaxcyte has named Mike Mullette its chief commercial officer as the California company plans for a pivotal phase 3 trial and the potential commercialization of its pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Release
> mRNA biotech Strand Therapeutics is upping its R&D credentials with Prashant Nambiar, Ph.D., joining as chief scientific officer and Ethan Cash as SVP and head of portfolio management and program development. Release
> Syncona’s translational research accelerator Slingshot Therapeutics is loading up its executive team with John Isaac as chief scientific officer and Bobby Soni as chief business officer. Release