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Arvinas CEO John Houston Announces Retirement Following PROTAC Breakthrough Success

Leadership ChangeTargeted Therapy
  • John Houston, Ph.D., CEO and President of Arvinas, announces plans to retire from executive roles after eight years of leadership, while remaining as Board Chairperson.
  • Under Houston's leadership, Arvinas achieved multiple industry firsts for PROTAC protein degraders, including the first positive pivotal Phase 3 trial and first new drug application.
  • The company has advanced six PROTAC programs into clinical trials and demonstrated for the first time that orally administered PROTACs can achieve pharmacodynamic activity in the central nervous system.
  • Arvinas Board of Directors has initiated a search for Houston's successor to continue advancing the company's targeted protein degradation platform across multiple therapeutic areas.

Oruka Therapeutics Promotes Laura Sandler to COO as Company Advances Novel Psoriasis Pipeline

Monoclonal AntibodyLeadership Change
  • Oruka Therapeutics has promoted Laura Sandler to Chief Operating Officer, leveraging her 20+ years of biopharmaceutical experience including her role in advancing CRISPR's first approved therapy exa-cel.
  • The company is advancing two novel biologics, ORKA-001 and ORKA-002, designed to treat plaque psoriasis with dosing as infrequent as once or twice yearly.
  • Phase 1 dosing for ORKA-002, a half-life extended IL-17A/F antibody, began in May 2025 with interim data expected by year-end and Phase 2 trials planned for early 2026.
  • Oruka has secured $500 million in funding since 2024, providing substantial capital to advance its clinical programs without dilution concerns.

Roche Announces Leadership Changes as Head of Pharma R&D Hans Clevers Retires

Leadership Change
  • Johannes (Hans) Clevers, Head of Roche Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED), will retire at the end of August 2025 after accelerating several potentially transformational medicines into final development phases.
  • Under Clevers' leadership since March 2022, the pRED organization has advanced multiple pipeline candidates that are expected to shape Roche's future therapeutic portfolio.
  • Barbara Schädler, Head of Group Communications, will also retire at the end of 2025 after modernizing Roche's communication function during her six-year tenure.
  • Clevers will continue leading Roche's Institute of Human Biology until a successor is announced, ensuring continuity in the company's research initiatives.

Q32 Bio Names Adrien Sipos as Interim CMO to Lead Alopecia Areata Drug Development

Monoclonal AntibodyLeadership Change
  • Q32 Bio appointed Adrien Sipos, M.D., Ph.D., as Interim Chief Medical Officer to oversee the ongoing SIGNAL-AA Phase 2a clinical trial of bempikibart for alopecia areata treatment.
  • Dr. Sipos brings over 25 years of immunology and inflammation drug development experience from leadership roles at Biogen, Sanofi Genzyme, and Eli Lilly.
  • The company expects topline results from Part B of the SIGNAL-AA Phase 2a trial in the first half of 2026 for their novel anti-IL-7Rα antibody therapy.
  • Bempikibart represents a novel therapeutic approach targeting IL-7 and TSLP signaling pathways to treat alopecia areata, which affects approximately 700,000 Americans.

CLINUVEL CEO Returns to Drive US Expansion with Vitiligo Treatment Approval Strategy

Drug ApprovalRare DiseaseLeadership Change
  • CEO Dr. Philippe Wolgen has returned to lead CLINUVEL Pharmaceuticals following his full recovery, positioning the company for its next growth phase in North America.
  • The company is pursuing approval of SCENESSE® for vitiligo treatment in the United States and Canada, which could represent a significant shift in CLINUVEL's business model.
  • CLINUVEL is accelerating US market presence through targeted M&A activities, with 104 of 120 EPP treatment centers currently active and ready for potential vitiligo patient treatment.
  • Analysts maintain a Buy recommendation with AUD 22.00 target price, representing 126% upside potential from current share price levels.

Iovance CFO Resigns Amid Amtagvi Launch Struggles and Securities Fraud Investigation

Leadership Change
  • Iovance Biotherapeutics CFO Jean-Marc Bellemin resigned effective July 10, 2025, following significant commercial setbacks for the company's melanoma treatment Amtagvi.
  • The company's first-quarter Amtagvi sales substantially underperformed Wall Street expectations, leading to revised revenue projections and a UBS downgrade.
  • Iovance faces a securities fraud class action lawsuit alleging misrepresentation of authorized treatment center operations and patient treatment timelines.
  • The company's stock plummeted over 44% from $3.17 to $1.75 per share following disclosure of poor Q1 results and operational challenges.

Quiver Bioscience Names Co-Founder Graham Dempsey CEO to Advance Nav1.7-Targeting ASO for Chronic Pain

Leadership Change
  • Quiver Bioscience appointed co-founder Graham Dempsey, PhD as CEO to lead the company's transition from discovery platform to clinical-stage therapeutics development.
  • The company's lead antisense oligonucleotide targeting Nav1.7 for chronic neuropathic pain is approaching development candidate selection in 2025 with IND-enabling studies to follow.
  • Quiver is scaling its AI-driven CNS drug discovery platform while advancing a pipeline including a UBE3A-targeting ASO for chromosome 15q duplication syndrome.
  • The Nav1.7 ASO demonstrates efficacy in preclinical models with favorable CNS tolerability, potentially overcoming limitations of existing Nav-targeted small molecules.

AstriVax Therapeutics Appoints Former Bayer Pharma CEO Dieter Weinand as Board Chairman

Leadership Change
  • AstriVax Therapeutics has appointed Dieter Weinand, former CEO of Bayer Pharma with over 25 years of pharmaceutical industry experience, as Chair of the Board of Directors effective June 12, 2025.
  • The leadership change comes as the clinical-stage immunotherapy company advances its proprietary Launch-iT technology platform for treating chronic infectious diseases, including hepatitis B virus and human papilloma virus infections.
  • The appointment follows AstriVax's recent initiation of its second Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating AVX70371 for chronic hepatitis B virus infection, marking a significant milestone in the company's clinical development program.
  • Outgoing Chair Dr. Jeanne Bolger, who served since 2022, will remain on the Board as a non-executive independent director to continue contributing her expertise to the company's therapeutic advancement.

Day One Biopharmaceuticals Appoints Michael Vasconcelles as Head of R&D to Drive Pipeline Expansion

OncologyTargeted TherapyLeadership Change
  • Day One Biopharmaceuticals has appointed Michael Vasconcelles, M.D., as Head of Research and Development, bringing over 25 years of oncology research and development expertise to the company.
  • Dr. Vasconcelles will oversee the company's research, development, and medical affairs infrastructure while supporting OJEMDA's growth and expanding the pipeline of targeted therapies.
  • The appointment comes at a pivotal time for Day One as it transitions from focusing primarily on pediatric cancer to developing transformative medicines for patients of all ages with life-threatening diseases.
  • Dr. Vasconcelles previously served as Executive Vice President at ImmunoGen, where he led the transformation into a global biotech enterprise and optimized ELAHERE's commercialization strategy.

Dyadic International Appoints Joe Hazelton as President to Lead Strategic Pivot to Ancillary Protein Markets

Leadership Change
  • Dyadic International has appointed Joe Hazelton as President to accelerate its strategic shift toward revenue-generating ancillary recombinant protein products for life sciences, nutrition, and industrial markets.
  • The company has achieved commercial validation through key partnerships including a develop-and-commercialize agreement with Proliant Health and Biologicals for recombinant human albumin and a joint venture with Fermbox Bio launching EN3ZYME.
  • Dyadic's C1 and Dapibus™ platforms continue to underpin the company's strategy, offering large-scale, high-titer production of recombinant proteins across non-therapeutic markets.
  • The leadership realignment positions Dyadic to capitalize on geopolitical trends driving reshoring of biomanufacturing supply chains to the United States and allied countries.
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