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.
Takeda taps longtime Lilly exec as US head
Takeda
With its head of U.S. business Julie Kim sliding up to the CEO spot next June, Takeda has locked in a replacement in Rhonda Pacheco. Pacheco is set to leave behind her role as Eli Lilly’s VP of U.S. cardiometabolic health, the most recent title she’s held along her 20-year tenure at Lilly which saw her overseeing the company’s booming GLP-1 drug portfolio. Kim, meanwhile, can now get ready for the upcoming CEO transition and focus on her interim position as head of Takeda’s global portfolio division as current CEO Christophe Weber’s retirement draws close. The incoming and outgoing CEO agree that Pacheco brings a “compelling blend of strategic acumen, operational excellence and people-first leadership” that fits in perfectly with Takeda’s U.S business unit, Kim and Weber said. Release
Biotech vet enters struggling Arena
Arena BioWorks
Splashy R&D organization Arena BioWorks has found a new leader in biotech veteran Harvey Berger, M.D., who will take the CEO spot from Stuart Schreiber, Ph.D., who will now be chief scientific officer. The reunion of Berger and Schreiber, who previously founded Ariad Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Takeda) together, comes as Arena has hit a rough patch. The billionaire-backed research institute laid off 30% of its staff last month, less than a year and a half after launching with $500 million. Release (PDF)
Former Pfizer leader joins precocious biotech startup
Intent Biologics
Months after leaving Pfizer, Suneet Varma has taken the CEO position at the newly created inflammation and immunology startup Intent Biologics. Varma joined Pfizer as part of the drugmaker’s takeover of Wyeth. Having worked at Wyeth for 16 years, he spent another 15 years at Pfizer, rising to the position of commercial president of the Big Pharma’s oncology unit before retiring earlier this year. Intent was founded by Mayo Clinic spinout Rion, which had previously brought Varma on board as a senior advisor. Atta Behfar, M.D., Ph.D., the Mayo Clinic professor who co-founded Rion, has taken the chief medical officer post at Intent. Story
> Vinay Prasad, M.D., is settling back into the FDA, regaining his former spot as chief medical and scientific officer to match his other recently reacquired role of Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research head after a short break from the agency. FDA bio
> ImmunoBrain gave former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky, M.D., a seat on its board of directors as the company continues advancing its Alzheimer’s disease project. Release
> Erkut Bahceci, M.D., is Charm Therapeutics’ lucky new appointment, taking the chief medical officer seat after the biotech’s recent $80 million series B funding round. Release
> I-Mab is doubling down on its investment in lead program givastomig, which Sean Cao, Ph.D., will help oversee in the newly created role of chief business officer. Release
> ElevateBio is lifting Larry Lockwood, Ph.D., into the chief commercial officer chair, his latest move after over 20 years of leadership experience. Release
> Johnson & Johnson has a new board member in John Morikis, the retired CEO of paint and coatings conglomerate Sherwin Williams. Release
> Resolution Therapeutics resolved to strengthen its executive team with the appointment of Immunocore vet Daniel Kennedy as chief business officer and experienced financial leader Lucy Singah as chief financial officer. Release
> Seasoned R&D exec Roland Bürli, Ph.D., is embarking with Scenic Biotech on the road to develop modifier therapies as its new chief scientific officer. Release
> Numab Therapeutics’ co-founder David Urech, Ph.D., is stepping down from the CEO spot and will remain a board member as longtime industry leader Barbara Angehrn Pavik takes the helm, effective immediately. Release
> Nuvig Therapeutics landed a new CEO in strategy and finance expert David Woodhouse, Ph.D., who will help advance the company’s mission of addressing limitations in intravenous immunoglobulin therapy. Release
> Flagship Pioneering-backed Metaphore Biotechnologies has named Anabella Villalobos, Ph.D., as chief scientific officer to spearhead development of its antibody design platform. Release
> Preclinical biotech Vicero is gearing up for human trials with a new chief medical officer, Han Myint, M.D. Release
> Experienced dealmaker Halley Gilbert is the new chief legal officer and chief operating officer of German biotech Tubulis. Release
> Cancer biotech CoRegen is souping up its C-suite with Sonja Nelson as chief financial officer and Peter Gelinas as chief technical officer. Release
> Veteran drug developer Sarah Noonberg, M.D., Ph.D., has found her next gig, taking up the CMO mantle at AbCellera. Release
> After leaving his role as chief scientific officer at 4D Molecular Therapeutics, Noriyuki Kasahara, M.D., Ph.D., has now taken on the same title at GenVivo. Release
> Alongside a private placement potentially worth as much as $100 million, CAMP4 Therapeutics has promoted SVP and Head of Discovery Dan Tardiff, Ph.D., to the chief scientific officer spot, while former CSO David Bumcrot, Ph.D., will transition to a scientific fellow. Release