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.
Yet another exec departs CRISPR Tx
CRISPR Therapeutics
CRISPR Therapeutics’ Julianne Bruno is hitting the exit in favor of external opportunities, marking the latest shake-up to the company’s executive team. Bruno had been with CRISPR for six years, serving in several management roles with increasing responsibility before landing the chief operating officer position last May. According to Stat, the COO transition makes for the seventh exec to split from the company since 2023. CRISPR had promoted Bruno to the role at the same time as it found a replacement for its former chief medical officer Phuong Khanh Morrow, M.D., who had resigned at the end of 2023 just after the company landed a historic FDA approval for its Vertex-partnered gene therapy Casgevy. Morrow’s departure came after the resignation of cofounder and President Rodger Novak, M.D., and the exit of former Chief Financial Officer Brendan Smith. Release
Aurion CEO replaced after power struggle
Aurion Biotech
Eye care giant Alcon appears to have gained the upper hand in the ongoing power struggle with Aurion Biotech by securing a majority stake in the clinical-stage company and replacing its CEO. Aurion Chief Scientific Officer Arnaud Lacoste, Ph.D., has been promoted to replace Greg Kunst as CEO “effective immediately.” Alcon and Aurion have been locked in a struggle for months over Aurion’s desire to list on the New York Stock Exchange, which Alcon tried to block in court. Aurion countersued, claiming that the investor was trying to trap the biotech so it could buy Aurion at a low price. Story
Another NIH leader hits the exit
National Institutes of Health
Tara Schwetz, Ph.D., a deputy director at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) who oversaw the creation of the government’s biomedical research funding initiative, has reportedly been put on administrative leave in the latest shake-up to the health agency’s leadership. The news came on the same day that Stanford researcher Jayanta Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D., was confirmed to lead the agency. Schwetz is the third senior leader to depart the NIH since Trump’s second term began, following the agency's deputy director for extramural research Michael Lauer, M.D., and principal deputy director Larry Tabak, Ph.D. Story
> Nkarta’s executive leadership team isn’t immune to the company’s sweeping layoffs, as proven by the departure of Chief Financial and Business Officer Alyssa Levin. Story
> Arbutus Biopharma is whittling down its workforce to a “core team” that doesn’t include Chief Medical Officer Karen Sims, M.D., Ph.D., or its general counsel and chief compliance officer J. Christopher Nafzger. Story
> Initial Therapeutics named former Bristol Myers Squibb VP Daniel Pierce, Ph.D., as its new chief scientific officer. Release (PDF)
> Sumeet Ambarkhane, M.D., is journeying from Alligator Bioscience to Pathios Therapeutics, where he will serve as chief medical officer. Release
> Elicio Therapeutics found a chief strategy and financial officer in Preetam Shah, Ph.D., who will also double as the company’s principal financial officer and principal accounting officer. Filing
> Byondis B.V. is bringing Christoph Korpus, Ph.D., on board as chief business officer, a role he pivots to after eight years with Merck KGaA. Release
> Skye Bioscience promoted its chief development officer Tu Diep to the chief operating officer seat, where he will oversee the obesity drug maker’s broader strategy. Release
> Former FDA staffer Zhihong Li, Ph.D., is bringing his regulatory expertise to Syncromune as chief regulatory affairs officer. Release
> Tevogen Bio is sharpening its commercial team with the addition of David Banko as global head of government affairs and patient access. Release
> Marc Forth is stepping down as president and CEO of Aeon Biopharma to pursue a new opportunity, leaving board Chairman Jost Fischer to serve as interim CEO until a permanent replacement is found. Release
> Metabolic medicine company Biomea Fusion is swapping one interim CEO for another, with Michael Hitchcock, Ph.D., taking over for Thomas Butler effective immediately. Release
> RNA therapy manufacturer Nutcracker Therapeutics has tapped Cynthia Collins to serve as interim CEO, replacing Igor Khandros, Ph.D., who is retiring from the top spot. Release
> Swedish biotech Asgard Therapeutics has brought Shane Olwill on board as chief development officer to help the company’s lead in vivo cell therapy ascend into clinical trials. Release
> After serving as chief technology officer at Auregen Biotherapeutics on an interim basis, Scott Lauder, Ph.D., has now taken on the title permanently. Release
> Eye-focused SpyGlass Pharma is looking to new Chief Research and Development Officer Chetan Pujara, Ph.D., to guide late-stage development of the company’s drug delivery platform. Release