Biopharma and life sciences companies strengthen their leadership teams and boards with these Movers & Shakers.
TriSalus – Denver-based TriSalus Life Sciences named Scott Davie to the role of chief technology officer. Davie will oversee research and development of the company’s intravascular infusion systems powered by its proprietary Pressure Enabled Drug Delivery approach with SmartValve technology, as well as operations, pre-clinical execution, and management of the IP portfolio. Davie also will serve as site lead for the company’s Westminster, Colo. facility. Prior to joining TriSalus, Davie held a number of leadership positions at Medtronic creating and leading teams and engineering departments. He has delivered innovative, complex, therapeutic and diagnostic systems from conceptualization through market launch including implantable cardiac devices, AF ablation systems, and hospital-based diagnostic platforms. His regulatory experience spans filings and registrations via 510k’s, PMA supplements, original PMAs, and CE Marks.
Akcea Therapeutics – Kia Motesharei was named senior vice president of Business Development & Corporate Strategy at Akcea Therapeutics. In this role, Motesharei will drive business development activities at Akcea as well as continue to enhance the corporate strategy in conjunction with the Akcea leadership team. Motesharei joins Akcea following a six-year tenure at Merck KGaA, where he most recently served as Global Head of Licensing and Business Development, Neurology & Immunology. Prior to Merck KGaA, he was Vice President of Business Development & Alliance Management at Dyax Corp., which was acquired by Shire and subsequently acquired by Takeda. Before that, Motesharei served as Chief Business Officer at the French biotechnology company Genfit and vice president of Corporate Development at ActivX.
Amplyx Pharmaceuticals – Chris LeMasters was named chief operating officer and Carlos Sattler was named head of clinical development for San Diego-based Amplyx Pharmaceuticals. As COO, LeMasters will lead operations and corporate development, and direct the company’s finance and administrative functions. Prior to joining Amplyx, LeMasters served as chief business officer of Mirati Therapeutics, where he helped lead the company’s successful expansion and growth. Sattler is joining Amplyx as senior vice president, clinical development, where he will lead the clinical development program for the company’s novel, first-in-class antifungal drug candidate, fosmanogepix. Prior to joining Amplyx, Sattler has held multiple leadership roles at companies including Halozyme, Sandoz, and Merck.
Saluda Medical – Australia-based Saluda Medical Pty Limited named Jim Schuermann as president and Robert Gaffney as chief operating officer. Schuermann and Gaffney will report to Chief Executive Officer John Parker. As President, Schuermann will be responsible for the global commercial and clinical strategy and execution of corporate objectives. As COO, Gaffney will be responsible for Saluda Medical’s manufacturing, operations, and product development. Prior to joining Saluda, Schuermann was CBO at Avedro, which was acquired by Glaukos in 2019. Before Avedro, he was head of Sales and Marketing at HeartWare. Gaffney’s previous experience includes key management positions in several start-ups as well as established companies, including president and CEO of SacraMed, head of Operations at InCube Labs, COO at Spinal Modulation and vice president of Operations at Satiety.
Amolyt Pharma – Piere Legault was named director and chairman of the board of directors of France’s Amolyt Pharma. In addition to his role at Amolyt Pharma, Legault also serves as the chairman of Artios Pharma, Bicycle Therapeutics and Poxel Pharma. He is the lead director of Urovant Sciences and board director of Syndax Pharmaceuticals, and he has acted as a board director for more than fifteen additional biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical companies. Legault was the CEO of Prosidion and served as the chief financial officer and treasurer of OSI Pharmaceuticals.
Lyndra Therapeutics – Örn Almarsson was named CTO of Lyndra Therapeutics. As CTO, Almarsson will oversee discovery and product development as Lyndra progresses multiple new therapies leveraging its platform. Almarsson, who most recently led the delivery science team at Moderna Therapeutics, which developed its COVID-19 vaccine delivery system, has extensive experience in pharmaceutical R&D, product design and evaluation, with a focus on the translation of new drug delivery concepts into clinical trials. Prior to Moderna, he was Vice President, Pharmaceutical R&D at Alkermes.
Confo Therapeutics – Rob Scott was named to the board of directors of Belgium-based Confo. Scott’s career spans 30 years of drug discovery and development leadership in the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, including his last position as CMO and Head of Development at AbbVie. Before AbbVie, he was Global Development TA Head and Head of Development Design Center at Amgen. He is a board member of Transclerate and a member of the PhRMA R&D Leadership Forum.
CellBox Solutions – Herbert Mueller-Hartmann was named head of research and development for Germany-based CellBox Solutions GmbH. Mueller-Hartmann was the former head of R&D at Lonza Pharma and Biotech.
MDLIVE – Cynthia Zelis was named CMO of MDLIVE Inc. Prior to joining MDLIVE, Zelis served in several leadership roles at University Hospitals. Most recently, she was vice president of ambulatory operations and telehealth.
X4 Pharmaceuticals – Renato Skerlj was named chief scientific officer of Cambridge, Mass.-based X4 Pharmaceuticals. Skerlj is one of the scientific founders of X4 and co-inventor of X4’s lead drug candidate, mavorixafor. He joined the company in September 2019 as head of Research and Development. As CSO, Skerlj will lead all research and development functions and pre-clinical development activities. Prior to joining X4, Skerlj held drug discovery and development leadership roles at Lysosomal Therapeutics. Previous to that, he was interim Head of Small Molecule Discovery at Genzyme and part of the executive team at AnorMED, a company that was acquired by Genzyme in 2006.
