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.
Altos ascends with new clinical leader
Altos Labs
Longevity company Altos Labs has secured a new clinical leader from the eye of the storm. Former Tornado Therapeutics co-founder and CEO Joan Mannick, M.D., is now senior vice president, chief medical officer and head of product development at the Bay Area biotech. She started her career as medical director at Genzyme and then spent seven years in the discovery unit at Novartis before taking further leadership positions at resTORbio, which she co-founded, and Life Biosciences. Mannick will lead all clinical programs at Altos, which debuted in early 2022 with a stunning $3 billion, an elite C-suite and the backing of Jeff Bezos. Since then, Altos has yet to disclose any programs and is still entirely preclinical. Release
Vertex vet set to retire
Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Vertex Pharmaceuticals' highest ranking scientist David Altshuler, M.D., Ph.D., has retired, with SVP of global research Mark Bunnage slated to step into the role starting in February 2026. As chief scientific officer, Altshuler guided Vertex through the discovery, development and approval of four cystic fibrosis medicines, the biotech’s CRISPR/Cas9 gene-edited therapy Casgevy and its non-opioid pain medicine Journavx. His successor Bunnage has worked with Altshuler at Vertex since 2016, taking charge of discovery research in March 2024. Release
Keros shakes up C-suite to go all in on DMD
Keros Therapeutics
Keros Therapeutics has switched up its leadership as the biotech attempts to move past the failure of its blood pressure drug by going all in on an early-stage Duchenne muscular dystrophy asset. President and Chief Operating Officer Christopher Rovaldi will leave the company Aug. 18, with CEO Jasbir Seehra, Ph.D., adding the president role to his existing duties. Seehra will, however, relinquish his position as board chair, which will be taken up by Jean-Jacques Bienaimé, Keros’ lead independent director. Meanwhile, Lorena Lerner, Ph.D., the company's senior vice president for research, has been promoted to chief scientific officer. “Certain senior vice president roles” have also been eliminated in the restructure. Story
> A few weeks after losing his job at struggling Sarepta Therapeutics, Dallan Murray has headed over to Vor Bio to serve as the revamped biotech’s chief commercial officer. Story
> Only a few months after stepping into the role of senior VP of marketing and patient solutions for U.S. operations at Novo Nordisk, Ulrich Otte is no longer in the position. Story
> Life sciences nonprofit Connect is linking up with new CEO James Zanewicz, former chief strategy officer at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans and current co-host of the “BIO from the BAYOU” podcast. Release
> Biopharma Ardelyx has appointed Edward Conner, M.D., as chief medical officer and John Bishop, Ph.D., as chief technical operations officer, while Chief Financial and Operations Officer Justin Renz is expected to leave the company in the coming months. Release
> Acadia Pharmaceuticals has snagged Genmab’s Scott Cenci to serve as SVP as well as chief information and data officer. Release
> Blood cancer biotech Geron has found a new president and CEO in Novartis vet Harout Semerjian, who will replace interim leader Dawn Carter Bir. Release
> Lorianne Masuoka, M.D., has stepped down as CMO of DiaMedica Therapeutics for personal reasons, with Julie Krop, M.D., taking her place. Release
> Entrada Therapeutics is growing its leadership team with Navid Khan, Ph.D., in the new role of SVP of medical affairs and Kiran Patki, M.D., joining as SVP of clinical development. Securities and Exchange Commission filing
> British CRDMO Arcinova has a new managing director in Christian Dowdeswell, Ph.D., who formerly headed up small molecules development at Lonza. Release
> Abzena has elevated board chair Geoffrey Glass to the CEO spot, where he’ll work to spearhead growth for the CDMO-CRO combo company. Release
> Roche’s Flatiron Health has found a new CEO in Nathan Hubbard, who is taking over the chief exec role from Carolyn Starrett, who will become senior advisor. Release
> Long-troubled Cassava Sciences has a new part-time CMO in Joseph Hulihan, M.D., who will advise the company’s clinical development of simufilam for a form of epilepsy. Release