36 - Appointment

Pfizer has appointed Cecile Guegan, currently Senior VP, Finance, Global Biopharmaceutical Business, as Interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO), as of 16 August. Dave Denton, Executive VP and CFO, will step down from his current role and leave the company on 15 August.

Guegan brings more than two decades of experience at Pfizer, amassing deep global financial experience leading finance across a wide range of complex and strategic portfolios, research and development, and several regions. In her current role, she is directly responsible for the financial operations and reporting of Pfizer’s biopharmaceutical business across all therapeutic areas and geographies. She has strong financial judgement and a proven track record of leading important enterprise initiatives, including the integration of Seagen into Pfizer in 2024.

Oriva Therapeutics has appointed Agnès Arbat as CEO. Arbat will also serve as the company’s Chief Medical Officer. Arbat brings more than 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, with a strong track record across clinical development, medical affairs and commercial strategy in women’s health. She was previously co-founder and CEO of Oxolife, a specialist biotech focused on female fertility. Prior to that, she led the Women’s Health and Cardiovascular medical team at Bayer and worked at Organon in Medical Affairs for Women’s Health. Arbat said: “Oriva’s assets have the potential to deliver best-in-class treatments for women worldwide suffering from common, painful and debilitating gynaecological conditions.”

Ardena has appointed Ariane de Ganck as Chief Scientific Officer. de Ganck brings a strong track record within Ardena, including her leadership of the company’s Drug Product division since 2022 and her recent role as Chief Commercial Officer. Since joining the company in 2019, she has overseen the company’s drug product operations and led the successful acquisition and integration of the Ardena Pamplona site. de Ganck’s senior management experience spans the CRO and CDMO sectors, with expertise across drug product development, CMC regulatory affairs, biomarkers and laboratory services. Prior to joining Ardena, she worked at Biogazelle, a specialist CRO in biomarker discovery and diagnostics, until its successful sale to CellCarta.

Moderna has appointed Piyali Mukherjee as Head of Medical Affairs, Europe and Middle East. Mukherjee brings more than 25 years of global leadership experience in vaccines, public health and Medical Affairs. Most recently she was VP, Medical Affairs for Asia Pacific at Moderna, focusing on advancing adult vaccination and supporting COVID-19 vaccine policy discussions. Prior to that, she led GSK’s Global Medical Affairs Vaccines organisation, where she oversaw major global launches and large scientific and medical teams. She will be based in Switzerland and will report to Francesca Ceddia, CMO. Mukherjee said: "It is a privilege to contribute to advancing mRNA science in ways that support public health priorities across a broad range of diseases.

Chiesi has appointed Maria Paola Chiesi as Chair of the Board. She is succeeding Alessandro Chiesi, who is completing his tenure after nearly three years in the role and who will now continue to serve as Vice Chair. This is a planned leadership change to the Board of Directors. The Board unanimously appointed Maria Paola Chiesi as Chair, effective immediately. As a member of the Chiesi family and Board, and through her operational roles over the last 30 years, she has played a central role in shaping the Group’s strategic planning and in embedding sustainability as a core driver of business decisions. This appointment also marks an important milestone in the Group’s history, as she becomes the first woman to be Chair of Chiesi.