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Second Genome-- South San Francisco-based Second Genome tappedChief Scientific Officer Karim Dabbaghas its new president and chief executive officer. Dabbagh will replace Glenn Nedwin, who retired from the company. Prior to Second Genome, Dabbagh served as head of the immunoregulation department and external R&D innovation for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases atPfizer. Before Pfizer, Dabbagh co-founded Modus BioMedicine, a start-up biotechnology company focused on treatments for transplantation and autoimmune disease.
Curis, Inc.-- Lexington, Mass.-based Curis, Inc. namedJames E. Dentzer as its new president and CEO. Dentzer will replace Ali Fattaey, who hasserved as CEOsince 2014. Prior to his role at Curis, Dentzer held leadership roles atDicerna Pharmaceuticals,Amicus Therapeutics,Valeritas, andBiogen.
Acadia Pharmaceuticals-- San Diego-based Acadia Pharmaceuticals namedRobert Kaper as its global head of medical affairs. Kaper most recently served as head of medical and scientific affairs forAMAG Pharmaceuticals. He has also held roles atTeva,CephalonandOrganon. Additionally, Acadia hired Eliseo Salinas as its chief scientific officer and head of external innovation. Salina most recently served as chief medical officer for New World Laboratories, where he led pre-clinical, clinical and regulatory activities for directly reprogrammed cell therapy programs in neurodegeneration.
Vividion Therapeutics– San Diego-based Vividion Therapeutics made a pair of appointments this week. First, the company namedFred Aslanas its president and chief business officer. Aslan most recently was the founder and CEO ofAdaviumMedical. Prior to Adavium Medical, he was a full-time investor at Venrock, a venture capital firm. In addition to Aslan, Vividion tapped Larry Burgess as its head of chemistry. Burgess most recently served as head of medicinal chemistry forArray BioPharma.
Dance Biopharm– San Francisco-based Dance Biopharm Holdings Inc. tappedAnne Whitakeras its new CEO. Whitaker will assume her new role Oct. 1. Whitaker has held numerous leadership positions in the industry, including serving as president and CEO ofKnow Bio, LLC,NovoclemPharmaceuticals, Inc. andSynta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. At Bausch Health Companies, Whitaker oversaw its Global Branded Pharmaceutical Business. She currently serves on the boards ofMallinckrodtplc.
Aerie Pharmaceuticals– North Carolina-based Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc. tappedDamien Monaghanas the company’s director of quality. Monaghan will lead quality assurance and quality control operations for Aerie’s manufacturing plant in Athlone, Ireland. He will report to Finbar O’Neill, EU Director, Quality & Regulatory Compliance. Most recently, Monaghan held a similar position atAlkermesPharma Ireland Limited.
VaultPharma, Inc. –JackKavanugh, who has spearheaded the commercialization of cellular therapies and emerging biotechnology firms, was named chairman of the VaultPharma, Inc. Board of Directors. Kavanaugh is the founder, former Chairman and CEO of ZetaRX Biosciences, which was acquired byJuno Therapeuticsin 2013. Kavanaugh was also the founding director of the Center for Applied Technology (CAT) at City of Hope where he established and oversaw the offices of IND Development and Regulatory Affairs, Quality Systems, Technology Licensing and COH’s two precedent-setting GMP biologics manufacturing facilities, the Center for Biomedicine and Genetics and the Cell Therapy Production Center.
Millendo Therapeutics–Habib Dable, president and chief executive officer ofAcceleron Pharma, has been named to the board of directors for Ann Arbor, Mich.'s Millendo Therapeutics, Inc. Dable has served as head of Acceleron Pharma since 2016. Prior to Acceleron, he spent more than 20 years atBayerAG in a number of commercial and operational leadership roles, ending his tenure there as President of Pharmaceuticals in the U.S. Prior to his role as president of U.S. Pharmaceuticals at Bayer AG, Dable was global head of specialty medicine for Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for the global launch of multiple brands. Dable recently served on the board of directors of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). .
Nuventra Pharma Sciences– Twoformer reviewersfor the U.S.Food and Drug Administration (FDA),Brian FurmanskiandGene Williamshave joined Durham, N.C.-based Nuventra Pharma Sciences as consultants. Furmanski has more than eight years of drug development experience. He previously served as an investigator atGlaxoSmithKlineand then as a senior clinical pharmacology reviewer at the FDA. Williams spent 20 years at the FDA as a primary reviewer and team leader.
Ra Pharma– Cambridge, Mass.-based Ra Pharmaceuticals namedAoife M. Brennanto its board of directors. Brennan currently serves as interim president and CEO and chief medical officer ofSynlogic. Brennan joined Synlogic in 2016 from Biogen, where she most recently served as head of the Rare Disease Innovation Unit. Prior to Biogen, she was director of clinical development atTolerx, a biotechnology company focusing on immunotherapy for Type 1 diabetes.
X4 Pharmaceuticals--Adam Mostafahas been named chief financial officer at Cambridge, Mass.-based X4 Pharmaceuticals. Mostafa joins the X4 team from a similar role atAbpro,where he was instrumental in achieving key financing and business development objectives during a period of strong growth. Prior to Abpro, Mostafa was a managing director in the Healthcare Investment Banking group at Cantor Fitzgerald.