In a dynamic week for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) announced the appointment of industry veteran John Crowley as its new CEO. Crowley, known for his leadership roles at Bristol Myers Squibb, Novazyme, and Amicus Therapeutics, is poised to steer BIO with his extensive experience.
The industry also witnessed significant personnel movements, with Zenas BioPharma welcoming Jennifer Fox as CFO and Dr. Tanya Fischer as CMO. Constellation, a SaaS company, brought on Bill Perry as general manager of life sciences and healthcare. Transgene, a French biotech firm, appointed Arnaud Dubarry as CFO, effective January 1, 2024, and promoted Lucie Larguier to VP of corporate communications and investor relations.
Carta Healthcare, following its Series B funding, named Brent Dover as CEO. Shorla Oncology and Smart Immune also bolstered their leadership teams with Rayna Sethi Herman and Dr. Rahim Fandi, MD, PhD, respectively. Weill Cornell Medicine hired Eileen Sheil as assistant vice provost for communications and public affairs, and Thermosome appointed Dr. Frank Hermann, MD, as CMO, alongside Professor Alessandro Gronchi, MD, to its clinical advisory board.
In agency news, MRM for Health and LiveWorld, announced Laura Potucek and Dawn Lacallade as chief creative officer and chief strategy officer, respectively. Dentsu subsidiary Tag named Dr. Balaji as head of medical content and MLR, and Matthew J. Dick transitioned from WE Communications to Omnicom Group as manager of health media.
The industry is also seeing strategic reorganizations, with IGM Biosciences and Travere Therapeutics reducing their workforces by 22% and 20%, respectively. ReNAgade Therapeutics and Santhera Pharmaceuticals are also adjusting their staff structures, with the latter promoting Geert Jan van Daal, MD, PhD, and Marc Schrader to C-suite positions.
In the realm of mergers and acquisitions, AbbVie announced an $8.7 billion acquisition of Cerevel and a collaboration with BigHat Biosciences to harness AI for antibody discovery. Roche acquired Carmot Therapeutics for $2.7 billion, with potential milestone payments of an additional $400 million. Absci and AstraZeneca partnered to develop AI-designed antibodies for oncology, and Exelixis and Arcus Biosciences teamed up for a renal cell carcinoma trial.
Investment and funding news includes ARCH Venture Partners raising $200 million for a Japan-focused biotech fund, 89bio’s $150 million public offering, and Seismic Therapeutic’s $121 million Series B round. Odyssey Therapeutics secured $101 million, Artbio raised $90 million, and Coya Therapeutics plans a $26.5 million private stock sale, with former Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross expected to join its board.
In regulatory and product development updates, Eli Lilly’s Jaypirca received FDA approval for certain leukemia and lymphoma treatments, while Valneva SE reported positive long-term data for its chikungunya vaccine. Merck KGaA faced a setback with its MS drug evobrutinib, and Hyloris Pharmaceuticals celebrated FDA approval for Podofilox Gel.
Marketing initiatives saw CVS rebrand its health services as ‘CVS Healthspire,’ and Clear Spring Health continued its partnership with Vokal. Unlock Health unveiled Unlock ROI Insights, a measurement tool for healthcare marketers, and Insilico Medicine launched a first-in-human study for an oral PHD inhibitor.
Finally, the FDA granted priority review to a Genfit–Ipsen liver disease drug and accepted Phathom Pharmaceuticals’ new drug application for Voquezna.
