Incyte has named veteran pharmaceutical executive Bill Meury as its new CEO, effective immediately, replacing Hervé Hoppenot who led the cancer and blood disease drugmaker for the past 11 years. The leadership transition comes as the company faces the looming 2028 patent expiration of its blockbuster drug Jakafi, which generated nearly $2.8 billion in sales last year.
New Leadership with M&A Expertise
Meury brings extensive deal-making experience to Incyte, having previously served as CEO of Anthos Therapeutics, which he sold to Novartis for nearly $1 billion this year, and Karuna Therapeutics, which Bristol Myers Squibb acquired for $14 billion in 2023. Prior to those leadership roles, Meury served as chief commercial officer at Allergan.
"Incyte's track record for discovering innovative treatments for complex problems in human health is outstanding," Meury said. "My priority is to build upon our exceptional R&D and commercial capabilities to accelerate new product flow, drive sustainable growth and create value for all stakeholders."
Hoppenot will remain on Incyte's board of directors through the end of this year to facilitate Meury's transition. Julian Baker, managing partner of biotechnology investor Baker Bros. Advisors and lead independent director for Incyte, was elected board chair alongside the succession.
Hoppenot's Legacy and Challenges
During Hoppenot's tenure, Incyte transformed from what he once described as suffering from "single asset syndrome" into a more diversified pharmaceutical company. Board member Baker noted that "Hervé joined Incyte in 2014 when it was a single product, U.S.-only company. During Hervé's tenure, Incyte launched six novel medicines plus two new indications for Jakafi, expanded commercial operations into Europe, Japan and Canada and grew revenues from $355 million dollars in 2013 to $4.2 billion today."
Despite this growth, Incyte remains heavily dependent on Jakafi, a multipurpose drug approved to treat rare blood cancers and graft-versus-host disease. Jakafi and Opzelura, the cream formulation of the drug, accounted for 91% of net product revenues last year. The company also earned nearly $600 million in royalty revenues.
The company faced a significant setback early in Hoppenot's tenure when epacadostat, a cancer medicine Incyte believed could become a cornerstone of immunotherapy combinations, failed in testing in 2018, forcing the company to pivot its research strategy.
Market Response and Future Outlook
Incyte shares, which have fallen 30% over the past five years, rose more than 4% in Thursday morning trading following the CEO announcement. RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams noted that "the immediate reaction from investors will be an expectation that [Incyte] could now become an M&A target, simply because Mr. Meury sold Anthos ... and sold [Karuna]."
Stifel analyst Stephen Willey credited Hoppenot with increasing Incyte revenues by more than 10 times during his tenure but noted that some investors grew frustrated with the company's high research and development spending without a clear post-Jakafi plan.
"It has been a privilege to lead Incyte over the past eleven years," Hoppenot said in the company's statement. "I am proud to retire at a time when Incyte has the strongest management team, internal R&D pipeline and commercial portfolio ever."
Incyte expects multiple pivotal trial readouts this year, along with proof-of-concept data for several pipeline candidates, providing Meury with near-term catalysts as he takes the helm of the company.
