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.
Private equity firms take over bluebird’s nest
bluebird bio
Gene therapy maker bluebird bio’s 15-year flight has landed in the nest of private equity firms Carlyle and SK Capital in a buyout that went for $3 per share. Mirati and Ipsen’s former CEO David Meek, who currently chairs Sobi, will take the reins at bluebird upon the deal’s close, which is expected to be in the first half of this year. The deal is far from bluebird’s previous valuation of more than $10 billion, with the purchase total potentially reaching $96 million if the firms can boost sales of bluebird’s three gene therapies to $600 million over any 12-month period by the end of 2027. The sell-off follows declining sales and a plan to lay off 25% of the company’s workforce as financial troubles mounted and a $103 million priority review voucher deal fell through. Story
Novartis vet vaults to FoRx
FoRx Therapeutics
As it readies for an investigational new drug submission for lead solid tumor candidate FORX-428, FoRx Therapeutics is bringing Jens Würthner, M.D., Ph.D., on board as chief medical officer. Würthner joins from ADC Therapeutics, where he most recently served as head of global clinical development. Before venturing into biotech, he spent five and a half years as a clinical program leader at Novartis, working on three solid and hematological tumor indications. Before Novartis, Würthner cut his teeth at GSK and AstraZeneca. Release
Indivior IDs next CEO
Indivior
After serving as a nonexecutive director for the past few months, Joe Ciaffoni has landed the CEO spot at substance-use-disorder-focused Indivior, replacing outgoing CEO Mark Crossley. Ciaffoni most recently spent five years as president and CEO of Collegium Pharmaceutical, which focuses primarily on pain management. Earlier in his career, he was a senior vice president at Biogen, first overseeing U.S. commercial and then global specialty medicines. Release
> Inhibikase Therapeutics bolstered its leadership team as it prepares to take its lead asset into phase 2 trials, pulling two execs from CorHepta Pharmaceuticals in former CEO Chris Cabell, M.D., as head of R&D and CorHepta’s co-founder John Adams, Ph.D., as chief scientific officer. Release
> Former government medical officer Anh Nguyen, M.D., will serve as Xeris Biopharma Holdings' first chief medical officer, taking over the responsibilities of current SVP of global development and medical affairs Ken Johnson, who will retire in April. Release
> U.K.-based IsomAb tapped Pfizer vet and MASH expert Gary Burgess, M.D., as chief medical officer to help bring the company’s lead candidate for peripheral ischemia to the clinic. Release
> Cell and gene therapy maker Senti Biosciences found its chief financial officer in Jay Cross, who comes from the same position at Sonnet BioTherapeutics after a 20-year Wall Street career. Release
> Ottimo Pharma brought on Ankyra Therapeutics’ former CSO Robert Tighe to lead its preclinical programs as SVP of preclinical and translational sciences, while AbbVie oncology vet Katherine Bell-McGuinn will oversee clinical development strategy as SVP of clinical development. Release
> Abzena, an end-to-end CDMO and CRO, has tapped Taylor Boyd to be its chief business officer. Release
> Allogeneic cell therapy developer Wugen has appointed Jim Faulkner, Ph.D., as chief technology officer, a role he will initially fill on an interim basis. Release
> Scholar Rock is shaking up its C-suite, appointing Lisa Wyman as chief technical and quality officer and Ted Myles as both COO and CFO while the company works to phase out the COO role entirely and find a permanent CFO replacement. Release
> Rare disease biotech Viridian Therapeutics has promoted consultant Radhika Tripuraneni, M.D., to be its next chief medical officer, replacing Thomas Ciulla, M.D. Release