Bayer Chooses CEO Under Investor Pressure
Bayer announced that Bill Anderson, an ex-Roche executive, will be taking over as the new CEO effective June 1st. The pharma giant has been under pressure to end current CEO Werner Baumann’s contract, who has served since 2016 and oversaw Bayer’s $63-billion acquisition of Monsanto, which has accumulated thousands of lawsuits regarding their cancer-linked weedkiller.
Previously, Anderson stepped down as CEO of Roche’s Pharmaceuticals Division in 2019 and served as CEO of Genentech and in multiple leadership positions at Biogen. In his 25-year career, Anderson has led multiple successful product launches and significant revenue growth. Dr. Norbert Winkeljohann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Bayer AG commented on Anderson’s appointment in a statement, “Bill has an outstanding track record of building strong product pipelines and turning biotech breakthroughs into products. Beyond that, he is a truly transformational leader who creates a culture that propels innovation, boosts productivity and performance, and allows people to thrive.”
Astellas Looks to Accelerate Growth With New CEO
Naoki Okamura will take over as new President and CEO of Astellas as it pivots to a more aggressive growth strategy in 2023. Okamura is taking over from current CEO Kenji Yasukawa, who was appointed in 2018 and turned growth upward as it bottomed out due to expired product patents. Having focused its R&D on specific disease areas, Okamura is leading the company on a path of long-term growth, with the company stating that “2023 is the right time to go on the aggressive to further accelerate growth.”
Okamura has been with the company for over 35 years and is being appointed from his current position as Representative Director, Corporate Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer. Okamura helped lead the company through major business deals, including the $3 billion acquisition of gene therapy specialist Audentes and $665 million acquisition of CAR-T biotech Xyphos in 2019.
AbelsonTaylor
The healthcare ad agency created the role of Senior Vice President and Director of Integrated Content and Production for Dan Zigulich, a production veteran. The goal is to accelerate the growth and profitability of AbelsonTaylor’s production group while providing full-service production capabilities to a wide range of clients. Zigulich’s work with healthcare agencies has provided him with a track record for linking creativity with measurable business success.
Abivax
Sheldon Sloan, MD, M. Bioethics has moved from Pfizer to the biotech focused on chronic inflammatory diseases as its new Chief Medical Officer. His 30-year career in gastroenterology and inflammatory bowel disease was spent first at Johnson & Johnson and then at Pfizer as Program Lead for Etrasimod UC, successfully managing late-stage clinical trial programs, global submissions, and product launches in the IBD field.
Cartography Biosciences
Former Amgen Director of Business Development, Chester Wong, has moved to the biotech known for its comprehensive single-cell antigen atlas for immuno-oncology targeting. Wong’s leadership in deal-making will help Cartography establish collaborations that accelerate its ability to impact patients, support the company’s mission, and advance its pipeline of next-generation cancer immunotherapies.
Fishawack Health
Mario Muredda has been named the new President of Marketing at the global commercialization agency. The healthcare marketing veteran will drive growth by enhancing the company’s data-driven and omnichannel marketing offering for its biopharmaceutical, medical technology, and wellness clients. He is trusted to orchestrate connected and personalized experiences that meet a variety of stakeholders’ needs in fast-paced and evolving markets.
Johnson & Johnson
The pharma leader tapped Sanofi’s R&D lead, John Reed, MD, PhD, to be the new Executive Vice President of Pharmaceuticals R&D. As a global research lead, Reed will apply his track record of discovering and developing life-saving drug innovations to drive the company’s growth and competitiveness.
JUICE Pharma Worldwide
The healthcare-focused marketing agency brought on Chris Ozanian as Chief Experience Officer to lead JUICE’s omnichannel digital success and a customer-focused approach to digital marketing. Ozanian joins JUICE from VMLY&R where he held the role of Managing Director of Experience Strategy.
Metagenomi
The genetics medicine company appointed Sarah Noonberg, MD, PhD as its Chief Medical Officer to oversee the clinical development of drug candidates and Metagenomi’s expanding therapeutic pipeline. Dr. Noonberg was previously Chief Medical Officer of Maze Therapeutics, where she built and led nonclinical and clinical development efforts to translate human genomic data into novel therapies.
NextPoint Therapeutics
The immuno-oncology biotech appointed Leena Gandhi, MD, PhD as its Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Gandhi will use her 20 years of experience, a portion of which was spent as VP of Immuno-Oncology Development at Eli Lilly, to direct precision programs that target the newly discovered HHLA2 pathway to activate anti-tumor immune responses.
Precision Value & Health
The life sciences commercialization company hired Doug Fulling as its new President to drive its next-generation commercialization market strategy. Fulling will be accountable for the overall strategy, organizational leadership, financial performance, and next-level growth of the company. Before joining Precision, Fulling served as President of Symphony Health where he built a successful track record with his team-centered approach to leadership.
Sharecare
Ex-Twitter executive, Lisa Bookwalter, has been hired for the newly created role of Chief Revenue Officer at Sharecare’s life sciences division. Having tripled revenue for Twitter’s Health vertical during her three years as Director of Client Services, Bookwalter is expected to drive new business solutions, foster value-driven partnerships, and identify first-to-market opportunities in life sciences.
Treeline Biosciences
Julia Beaver, MD has left the FDA where she served as Chief Medical Officer of the Oncology Center for Excellence to take on a role as SVP of Clinical Development at Treeline Biosciences, which focuses on molecular oncology targets. She enters the biotech as it wraps up a notable $261 million in Series A funding.
Viatris Inc.
The global healthcare company appointed Scott A. Smith as CEO to lead its new strategic plan for 2024. Smith has over 35 years of experience as a senior global biotech and pharma executive, 10 of which were spent at Celgene where he worked his way to Chief Operating Officer.
