Chutes & Ladders—Exscientia CEO out after 'inappropriate' relationships with 2 staffers

 Chutes and LaddersWelcome to this week's Chutes & Ladders, our roundup of hirings, firings and retirings throughout the industry. Please send the good word—or the bad—from your shop to Max Bayer or Gabrielle Masson, and we will feature it here at the end of each week. 


Exscientia fires founder and CEO after ‘inappropriate’ relationships

Exscientia

A stunning update from one of the leaders in the AI-based drug development space. Exscientia immediately fired its founder and CEO Andrew Hopkins after an internal investigation found that he had “inappropriate” relationships with two other employees. Chief Scientific Officer Dave Hallett has been tapped as interim CEO while a full search gets underway. 

Exscientia
Interim CEO Dave Hallett (Exscientia)

In the process of investigating Hopkins, the board found that Chairman David Nicholson was aware of the alleged conduct and tried to remedy the situation himself and with outside counsel instead of consulting the rest of the board. That revelation has cost him his job as well, with Nicholson tendering his resignation Feb. 12. 

The company said in a release that what they uncovered did not impact financial statements or internal decisions regarding finances. The news did shake the stock price, however, with Exscientia’s shares falling from $7.51 per share to $5.80 on Tuesday. 

Just a month ago, Hopkins was heralded after King Charles III appointed him Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Exscientia was founded in 2012, spun out of the University of Dundee. Fierce Biotech 


Star-studded ADC cast leads Firefly into the wild

Firefly Bio

Following in the footsteps of biotechs like Nurix and C4 Therapeutics, Firefly Bio emerged with $94 million to advance a platform developing degrader-antibody conjugates (DACs). Similar to their antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) siblings, DACs pair an antibody with a protein degrader, looking to wipe out problematic proteins and rally the immune system to clean up disease. 

Taking the helm is Scott Hirsch, who previously was chief operating officer at Allkos after working portfolio management gigs at AbbVie and Genentech, among other roles. Firefly’s CSO is John Flygare, Ph.D., who was an entrepreneur at Versant, one of Firefly’s lead backers, after working as a scientist at Genentech and Merck & Co. Chief Technology Officer Bernhard Geierstanger, Ph.D., spent 20 years at the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation before working at Merck. 

But undoubtedly the buzziest of the co-founders is Nobel Prize winner Carolyn Bertozzi, Ph.D., who’s globally recognized as a leader in ADC chemistry. 

In addition to Versant, Firefly Bio counts Lilly, MPM Bioimpact and Decheng Capital among its early list of investors.Fierce Biotech 


Scholar Rock promotes from within for CSO role, adds Denali’s CCO to board

Scholar Rock 

This year is arguably the most important for Scholar Rock since its inception, with a phase 3 readout for its spinal muscular atrophy drug, apitegromab, expected in the fourth quarter. A victory there would tee up the company's first commercial product. A failure would mean a reevaluation of the asset, which is also in a phase 1 trial for patients with obesity.

In the meantime, the biotech is shorting up its leadership team. First, the company is promoting from within, naming Mo Qatanani, Ph.D., as its new chief scientific officer. He’s been with the company since September 2021, first as SVP and head of biology before becoming head of research. Before joining Scholar Rock, Qatanani was a vice president and Duchenne muscular dystrophy program lead at Dyne Therapeutics. 

Scholar Rock is also adding a new member to its board, naming Katie Peng as a new director. She’s currently the chief commercial officer at Denali Therapeutics, a rare disease and neurodegeneration-focused biotech. She previously oversaw Genentech’s non-oncology portfolio, which represented $14 billion in revenue. Release


> Meliora Therapeutics has promoted SVP and head of drug discovery Claudio Chuaqui, Ph.D., to chief scientific officer, and has tapped Anand Selvaraj, Ph.D., to serve as VP and head of cancer biology. In the past, Chuaqui has held senior roles across Syros, Astrazeneca, Celgene and Biogen, while Selvaraj joins Meliora from Novartis, where he served as a precision oncology director. Release

> AM-Pharma’s chief medical officer Maarten Kraan, M.D., Ph.D., has left the company for Dutch biotech Citryll, where he will also serve as CMO. Kraan—who has past experience at Pierre Fabre, AstraZeneca, Roche and Bristol Myers Squibb—takes the spot of Patrick Round, M.D. Release

> Ocuphire Pharma has appointed Ash Jayagopal, Ph.D., as chief scientific and development officer, and Nirav Jhaveri as chief financial officer. Before Ocuphire, Jayagopal was Opus Genetics’ chief scientific officer, while Jhaveri previously served as Insilico Medicine’s chief financial officer. Release

> California-based biotech Silver Creek Pharmaceuticals has snagged Mark Corrigan, M.D., to serve as president. Corrigan was most recently CEO of Tremeau Pharmaceuticals, a non-opioid pain company he co-founded. Release

> Ocular Therapeutix has chosen Steve Meyers as chief commercial officer. Meyers joins from Flexion Therapeutics and has over two decades of commercial experience, including roles at Regeneron, AbbVie and Procter & Gamble. Release

> French biotech StromaCare has selected Georges Rawadi, Ph.D., to lead the way as CEO. The Apmonia Therapeutics chair and former Celyad Oncology CEO has more than 20 years of experience in the pharma and biotech industries. Release

> Oragenics CEO Kimberly Murphy has entered a mutually agreeable separation agreement with the company, terminating her role Feb. 12. Murphy will continue to serve on the company’s board as Oragenics President Michael Redmond takes over as interim principal executive officer. Release

> Rapt Therapeutics has selected Nipun Davar, Ph.D., as SVP of technical operations. Davar joins the immunology company from Astex Pharmaceuticals, where he served as chief corporate officer. Release

> Israel-based Compugen is has chosen Michelle Mahler, M.D., to serve as chief medical officer starting March 1. Mahler is Compugen’s current VP of clinical development and succeeds Henry Adewoye, M.D., who is leaving to pursue other opportunities after six years with Compugen. Release