Relay Therapeutics has announced the appointments of Mahesh Padval (right) as senior vice president of pharmaceutical drug development and Mary Mader as vice president of chemistry. Padval most recently served as vice president of pharmaceutical sciences and product development at Verastem. Previously, he was vice president of preclinical development and formulation at Zalicus. Mader joins the company from Eli Lilly and Company, where she was a research fellow and group leader.

“We welcome Mary and Mahesh to Relay Therapeutics, both key additions to our senior R&D leadership team,” said Don Bergstrom, Relay head of R&D. “Their experience as seasoned biopharma executives will bolster our capabilities as we apply our protein motion platform to an expanding array of therapeutic targets, as well as support our transition into a development-stage biotechnology company.”

Genocea Biosciences has named Girish Aakalu as its new chief business officer. Aakalu brings a broad skill set spanning business development, corporate and R&D strategy, product portfolio management, commercial planning and alliance management, following positions at the Ipsen Group including vice president: global head of external innovation and positions at Pfizer including executive director: head of strategy, innovation and operations for Pfizer's external R&D innovation team.

Carla Balch has been appointed CEO of TransMed Systems, succeeding Nick Berens, who remains a member of the company's board of directors. Balch previously served as president of NantCare, the oncology subsidiary of NantWorks. In addition, TransMed also named Jeff Edenfield as its first chief medical officer. Edenfield is an associate professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine.

Daniel O'Day has been appointed chairman of the board and CEO of Gilead Sciences, effective March 1. O'Day previously served as head of Roche Diagnostics and is currently CEO of Roche Pharmaceuticals, a position he has held since 2012.

Former president and CEO of Juniper Pharmaceuticals Alicia Secor has been named to the board of directors of Orchard Therapeutics. Secor brings more than 25 years of life sciences leadership to Orchard. She previously served as chief commercial officer at Zafden and also held leadership roles at Synageva BioPharma and Genzyme.

Reid Huber (right) has joined Third Rock Ventures as a partner. He brings 20 years of leadership and experience to the VC firm, most recently serving as executive vice president and CSO at Incyte.

Kaleido Biosciences has announced the appointment of Katharine Knobil as chief medical officer and head of research and development. She joins Kaleido from GlaxoSmithKline, where she most recently served as chief medical officer and spent more than 20 years in roles of increasing responsibility in clinical development, health outcomes and medical affairs.

Glympse Bio has announced the appointment of Caroline J. Loew as president, CEO and a member of the board of directors. She joins Glympse from Bristol-Myers Squibb, where she most recently served as vice president, head of R&D strategy and planning.

Personalized cancer immunotherapy developer Achilles Therapeutics has appointed Edwin Moses chairman of its board of directors. In addition, interim CEO Iraj Ali has been named permanent, full-time CEO. Moses was most recently CEO of Ablynx, which was acquired by Sanofi for $4.8 billion in 2018. Ali joined Achilles in January 2018 as interim CEO while also serving as a partner at Syncona, Achilles' founding investor.

Genevant Sciences has named Bo Rode Hansen president and CEO. Hansen previously served as global head of RNA therapeutics at Roche and as general manager of the Roche Innovation Center Copenhagen. Before Roche, he was vice president and head of drug discovery and alliance management at Santaris Pharma through the company's acquisition by Roche in 2014. In addition, Genevant has named Mark Kay as an independent member of its board of directors. Kay is a cofounder and member of the board of directors and scientific advisory board of LogicBio Therapeutics. He is also a scientific cofounder and scientific advisory board member of Voyager Therapeutics.

Clinical-stage biotech Magenta Therapeutics has named Jason Ryan chief operating and financial officer. Ryan joins Magenta from Foundation Medicine, where he served as CFO.

Stephen Squinto has been appointed chairman of the board of ChemomAb. A venture partner with OrbiMed who brings over 25 years of industry experience, Squinto cofounded Alexion Pharmaceuticals and served as the company's executive vice president, chief global operations officer and global head of R&D.

Oncology drug developer IDEAYA Biosciences has named Bao Truong vice president, head of regulatory affairs. She joins the company from Ignyta, where she held the same position.

William “Wes” Westlin (right) has been named executive vice president of R&D at xenotransplantation company eGenesis. He brings over 25 years of drug discovery and development experience, having recently served as senior vice president of research and early development at both Nimbus Therapeutics and Avila Therapeutics. Before that, he was senior vice president for preclinical research at Praecis Pharmaceuticals.