The longer the time spent in the industry, the greater the reputation built and this is reflected in this month’s appointments.
One appointment sees Sanofi bring in a new head of development with a strong reputation built on several years at R&D powerhouses, such as Genentech and Amgen.
Another sees an experienced individual given another chance, after being unceremoniously shown the door at a fledgling biotech after claims of ‘personal misconduct’.
In contract, LEO Pharma has opted for a change of leadership that sees Gitte Aabo scheduled to leave the company after 27 years.
The longer the time spent in the industry, the greater the reputation built and this is reflected in this month’s appointments.
One appointment sees Sanofi bring in a new head of development with a strong reputation built on several years at R&D powerhouses, such as Genentech and Amgen.
Another sees an experienced individual given another chance, after being unceremoniously shown the door at a fledgling biotech after claims of ‘personal misconduct’.
In contract, LEO Pharma has opted for a change of leadership that sees Gitte Aabo scheduled to leave the company after 27 years.
LEO Pharma’s long-serving CEO, Gitte Aabo, will step down from the position after 11 years in the role and 27 years with the company. Catherine Mazzacco will take his place and is set to join the company as its president and CEO as of August 1, 2019.
Mazzacco will leave her current position as SVP of global commercial operations at GE Healthcare’s Biopharma business, with this side of the GE business set to join Danaher in a $21bn (€18.6bn) deal in the near future.
Mazzacco had only recent joined the GE Healthcare business, being in the role for one year and a half, after joining from Abbot. She had spent close to 16 years at the latter company, ending her time as VP of global commercial operations for Abbott’s vision division.
According to the company, the decision for a change of leadership came from Aabo, as the company pivots towards becoming a market leader in the dermatology space – making a number of investments recently to bolster its portfolio in the area.
Catherine Mazzacco said, “I am very impressed by what the people at LEO Pharma have accomplished and the high reputation LEO Pharma enjoys among patients and physicians. This is a great foundation to build on in the coming years, with the expansion of LEO Pharma’s innovative portfolio ahead of us.”
According to the company, the long-term goal moving towards 2025 is to reach 125 million dermatology patients, with plans to achieve this by furthering broadening its portfolio through oral, topical and biologics treatments.
EUSA Pharma makes two appointments, with Carsten Thiel (pictured, left) joining as president of its European business and Darrel Cohen (pictured, right) becoming head of clinical development.
The appointment of Thiel sees him return to work half a year after his departure as CEO of Abeona Therapeutics under a cloud, a role he had held for only six months at the time.
At the time, Abeona stated that his position had been terminated due to the ‘personal misconduct’ following an investigation by independent members of the company’s board of directors. The committee found that Thiel had violated the company’s code of business conduct and ethics, which led to his departure from the business.
EUSA’s announcement makes no mention of the circumstances under which he left Abeona, with Thiel himself stating that, “I am honoured to lead the expansion of [the company’s] commercialisation activities in Europe”.
Prior to his brief stint at Abeona, Thiel had worked as CCO at Alexion and spent seven years as VP of Amgen’s European business.
Cohen arrives at the company after nearly 13 years at Pfizer, where he oversaw clinical development.
Lee Morley, EUSA Pharma’s CEO, said, “We are delighted to welcome Thiel and Cohen to EUSA. Both bring significant experience, vision and proven executional skills to the company, which will prove invaluable as we continue the rapid expansion in Europe.”
The company is currently working on the commercial rollout of Fotivda (tivozanib), Qarziba (dinutuximab), and Sylvant (siltuximab).
In an unusual move for a large pharma company, Sanofi revealed the identity of its new global head of development not through a press release but via Twitter.
Berger returns to the big pharma fold after a one-year stint as global head of R&D at Atara Biotherapeutics. Prior to this, he had been SVP of Genentech’s global clinical development division for a six-year period.
In addition, he worked as VP of global clinical development at Bayer for two years and held a similar role at Amgen for four years during his 10-year tenure at the company.
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has made Haseeb Ahmad its president, which he will hold alongside his role as MD of Novartis Pharmaceuticals’ UK, Ireland, and Nordics business.
According the ABPI, his responsibilities will be to “promote innovation and collaboration with the NHS and [UK] government, which will not only improve outcomes for patients but also boost the UK economy.”
Ahmad is currently two years into his role at Novartis, joining the company from MSD, known as Merck in the US and Canada, where he spent seven years and was tasked with the role of MD for Greece, Cyprus and Malta. In addition, he held various positions at Schering-Plough for close to eight years.
Ahmad said of his appointment, “The pharmaceutical industry, Government and the NHS must work together to ensure that patients can access innovative therapies and that we deliver the kind of healthcare that all of us in the UK deserve.”
FSD Pharma announces the transition of Raza Bokhari from interim CEO of the company to an official appointment as CEO of the company. In addition, he will hold the position of co-chairman of the board.
Bokhari held the position of interim CEO from February 2019, after originally joining the company as a director 11 months ago. Prior to joining FSD Pharma, Bokhari spent five years as chairman and CEO of Parkway Clinical Laboratories – a clinical reference laboratory performing diagnostic testing for those working in addiction and pain management.
FSD Pharma is itself looking into using cannabis-based medicine for the treatment of neurological disorders, such as chronic pain, fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome.
Bokhari commented, “We aim to deliver sustainable, positive shareholder value in this groundbreaking, disruptive cannabinoid-based industry where we hope to have the potential to help alleviate pain and suffering for people around the world, through the use of medicinal grade cannabis and synthetic and biosynthetic cannabinoid pharmaceuticals.”
