Welcome to this week’s Chutes & Ladders, our roundup of significant leadership hirings, firings and retirings across the industry. Please send the good word\u2014or the bad\u2014from your shop to Darren Incorvaia or Zoey Becker and it will be featured here at the end of each week.<\/p>\n
Roche taps Aussie oncologist to lead early research<\/p>\n
Roche<\/p>\n
Mark Dawson, M.D., Ph.D.
\n (Roche)<\/p>\n
Swiss drugmaker Roche has plucked an experienced scientist from Down Under to lead its early research efforts. Hematologist\u00a0Mark Dawson, M.D., Ph.D., an expert in cancer epigenetics, will now head up Roche\u2019s pharma research and early development unit, effective May 1. To take the role, Dawson is departing from his position as associate director of research at the\u00a0Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne. He is also a professor at the University of Melbourne and an elected member of the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and the European Molecular Biology Organization. At December\u2019s meeting of the American Society of Hematology, Dawson was\u00a0awarded<\/a> the prestigious\u00a0William Dameshek Prize.\u00a0Release<\/a><\/p>\n Sanofi specialty care chief departs<\/p>\n Sanofi<\/p>\n Following the ouster of the French drugmaker\u2019s CEO Paul Hudson earlier this month,\u00a0Brian Foard\u00a0is departing Sanofi as specialty care chief at the end of the month for another leadership opportunity. The pharma has promoted\u00a0Manuela Buxo\u00a0to replace him. Buxo previously led the global immunology alliance franchise for Sanofi, where she drove expansion and growth for the company\u2019s eczema and inflammation blockbuster Dupixent, which generated $18.6 billion in revenue last year. Her new role will continue her responsibility for Dupixent\u2019s growth, and she will serve on the executive leadership team for the company\u2019s new CEO, Bel\u00e9n Garijo, M.D., Ph.D., when Garijo joins from Merck KGaA at the end of April. Buxo will be in charge of one of Sanofi\u2019s most important areas as the pharma giant looks to replace the revenue lost as Dupixent\u2019s patent cliff nears.\u00a0Story<\/a><\/p>\n Sensorion keeps an ear out for new CEO<\/p>\n Sensorion<\/p>\n Sensorion\u2019s CEO\u00a0Nawal Ouzren is stepping away from the hearing-loss-focused biotech, citing a personal matter that is \u201cincompatible\u201d with serving as CEO and as a director on the company\u2019s board. While the leadership change is effective immediately, Ouzren will stay on temporarily as a consultant to facilitate a smooth transition between her and Board Chairman\u00a0Amit Munshi, who is taking over in the interim as Sensorion looks for a permanent replacement. Ouzren had been with Sensorion since 2017 and has seen the biotech through several milestones\u2014as well as setbacks\u2014as the company looks to restore, treat and prevent hearing loss disorders through its two gene therapy programs and pipeline of other assets.\u00a0Release<\/a><\/p>\n >\u00a0CNS Pharmaceuticals\u2019 new CEO\u00a0Rami Levin is rounding out his leadership team with\u00a0Steven O\u2019Loughlin as chief financial officer,\u00a0Eric Faulkner as chief technology officer and\u00a0Dylan Wenke as chief business officer.\u00a0Release<\/a><\/p>\n >\u00a0Regenerative medicine specialist Longeveron is looking to\u00a0Stephen Willard as its new CEO, replacing interim leader\u00a0Than Powell.\u00a0Release<\/a><\/p>\n >\u00a0Jeff Bluestone, Ph.D., a pioneering researcher of regulatory T cells and former CEO of Sonoma Biotherapeutics, has found his next role as managing director at autoimmune-focused Vie Ventures.\u00a0Release<\/a><\/p>\n > Michelle Morrow, Ph.D., is leaving behind her spot as Avacta Therapeutics\u2019 chief scientific officer to join the fold at Nucleome Therapeutics, taking on the same role at the 3D genomics biotech.\u00a0Release<\/a><\/p>\n >\u00a0Aquestive Therapeutics, looking to bounce back after a recent FDA rejection, is pumping years of expertise into its leadership team through the appointment of world-renowned allergy expert\u00a0Matthew Greenhawt, M.D., as chief medical officer.\u00a0Release<\/a><\/p>\n >\u00a0Lixte Biotechnology is putting\u00a0Sidney Braun in charge of its recently acquired subsidiary Liora Technologies Europe as CEO, where he will help advance Liora\u2019s LiGHT system technology in cancer treatment.\u00a0Release<\/a><\/p>\n >\u00a0California-based Tenvie Therapeutics\u2019 new chief business officer will be\u00a0Don O\u2019Sullivan, Ph.D. He will lead business development for the small molecule biotech\u2019s work in neurological diseases.\u00a0Release<\/a><\/p>\n >\u00a0Roche-affiliated tech outfit Flatiron Health looked internally to add to its executive team, promoting\u00a0Michael Bierl to chief business officer, adding Allison Candido as chief technology officer and making\u00a0Kate Estep its chief product officer.\u00a0Release<\/a><\/p>\n