Chutes & Ladders—Legend poaches Novartis vet to boost commercial potential

Biotech Chutes & Ladders—Legend poaches Novartis vet to boost commercial potential By Donavyn Coffey, Marissa Russo, Will Maddox Sep 18, 2026 8:30am Chutes and Ladders Legend Biotech Chiesi Serapha Bio 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 Donavyn Coffey, Marissa Russo and Will Maddox, and it will be featured here at the end of each week. Legend poaches Novartis vet to boost commercial potential Legend Biotech After former Legend Biotech CEO Ying Huang, Ph.D., left the company suddenly in July, Legend has found its permanent CEO, poaching Novartis veteran Ingrid Zhang as the CAR-T specialist eyes its next phase of growth.

Zhang assumed the post from interim chief Alan Bash, who has returned to his role as president of Carvykti. Zhang joined Legend after a 15-year tenure at Novartis, most recently serving as chief commercial officer for Novartis’ ex-U.S. international business.

Before that, she held positions at AstraZeneca, Pfizer and McKinsey. The Big Pharma vet will focus on maximizing Carvykti’s commercial potential and meeting full market demand as new competitors emerge. In the second quarter of 2026, Johnson & Johnson-partnered Carvykti generated $657 million in sales, driven by 32% year-over-year growth in the U.S.

and 128% expansion ex-U.S. as the multiple myeloma drug reached 19 global markets. Story Serapha revamps C-suite with Regenxbio founder Serapha Bio After launching through a merger and $230 million financing, Serapha Bio has loaded up its C-suite with several new appointees.

The genetic medicines company has named Kenneth Mills CEO and added Daphne Karydas as president and CFO. Weston Miller, M.D., will be its new chief medical officer, Nina Hunter, Ph.D., was named chief development officer and Shiva Fritsch rounds out the new leadership as chief corporate affairs officer. With investment led by RA Capital Management and RTW Investments, Serapha is supporting SERP-01, an in vivo base editing program developed in China and licensed from YolTech Therapeutics.

The asset, which is being investigated as a potential treatment for alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, targets the SERPINA1 E342K mutation. Mills most recently served as president and CEO of Tagworks Pharmaceuticals and spent 15 years as president and CEO of Regenxbio after founding the company. He led its 2015 IPO and built it into a gene therapy company with research, clinical and manufacturing capabilities.

Release Chiesi taps Flagship Pioneering alum to lead innovation Chiesi Group Specialty and rare disease pharma Chiesi is set to welcome David Khougazian as its next Group CEO. Khougazian joins from biotech venture capital firm Flagship Pioneering, where he was the executive partner of growth and head of global engagement. Khougazian’s appointment marks a shift toward innovation-driven growth for the Italian pharma, marked by recent acquisitions, licensing deals and increased R&D spending.

“[David] brings a unique combination of global healthcare leadership, operational experience and exposure to some of the most dynamic areas of biotech innovation, which makes him exceptionally well positioned to guide Chiesi through this next chapter,” said Maria Paola Chiesi, Chiesi Group Chair. For his part, Khougazian said he’s looking forward to working with the Chiesi team to “further strengthen the Group's innovation capabilities, advance its pipeline and partnerships.” Khougazian will succeed interim Group CEO Jean-Marc Bellemin on October 15, 2026. Bellemin will continue in his permanent role as CFO.

Release > Biotech data company Revalia Bio named Casimir Starsiak III president and CEO, with co-founder Greg Tietjen, Ph.D., moving to chief innovation officer. Starsiak held leadership roles at Verily and joins from Eli Lilly, where he was an associate vice president of enterprise AI and research software product management. Release > Danish vaccine company Bavarian Nordic has announced that Tarja Stenvall will be president and CEO, effective October 15.

She follows longtime CEO Paul Chaplin, who left in March after a proposed private equity takeover. Stenvall was most recently senior vice president and head of global franchise for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases at Sanofi. Release > Hummingbird Bioscience has named James Garner, M.D., president.

He previously held regional and global roles at Biogen, Takeda and Sanofi, with experience in oncology, immunology, central nervous system disorders and orphan diseases. Release > Alongside a $12 million raise, precision medicine biotech Shennon Biotechnologies has appointed Cyril Konto, M.D., CEO. Founder and current CEO Li Sun, Ph.D., will transition to president and chief technology officer.

Release > SonoThera, a genetic medicine biotech, has announced that Adam Shaywitz, M.D., Ph.D., will be the company’s new chief medical officer. He previously held the same role at BridgeBio Gene Therapy. Release > Slate Medicines crowned Kenneth Koblan, Ph.D., as new chief scientific officer to help advance its monoclonal antibody, SLTE-1009, and expand its migraine medicine pipeline.

Release > Q32 Bio appointed Tarsus, Genentech and Vertex alum José Trevejo, M.D., Ph.D., as chief medical officer to push its anti-IL-7Rα antibody, bempikibart, into a registration-directed program for severe or very severe alopecia areata. Release > Belgium biotech Coultreon Biopharma ushered in Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vet Nate Massari as chief business officer to support the advancement of Coultreon's first-in-class SIK3 inhibitor, COL-5671, in ulcerative colitis and psoriasis. Release > Neuro-focused LB Pharmaceuticals has named Susan Kozauer, M.D., as chief medical officer.

She was most recently senior vice president and head of clinical development at Lilly-owned Centessa Pharmaceuticals. Release > Walden Biosciences announced that nephrologist Rekha Abichandani, M.D. would be its new CMO ahead of phase 2 results on its first-in-class monoclonal antibody for a rare chronic kidney condition.

Release > Privately owned clinical research site K2 Medical Research brought Robert Massey on as its first chief commercial officer as it looks to become a more integrated clinical development partner. Massey joins from Medidata where he was the Senior VP of Global Enterprise and Partners. Release > Diasome Pharmaceuticals appointed Intercept and Alfasigma alum, Sangeeta Sawhney, M.D.

as its new chief medical officer ahead of a phase 3 push for its investigational insulin delivery system. Interim CEO Paul Stumph, M.D., transitioned to senior medical advisor. Release > Autoimmune biotech GlycoEra announced Andrea Matthews as its new chief business officer.

Matthews was previously CBO at Astria Therapeutics. Release Chutes and Ladders Legend Biotech Chiesi Serapha Bio Bavarian Nordic Hummingbird Bioscience Revalia Bio Shennon Biotechnologies SonoThera Slate Medicines Q32 Bio Coultreon Biopharma LB Pharmaceuticals Walden Biosciences K2 Medical Research Diasome Pharmaceuticals GlycoEra Biotech