Pharmaceutical Market Europe • September 2025 • 37
APPOINTMENTS
Novo Nordisk
Maziar Mike Doustdar
Novo Nordisk has appointed Maziar Mike Doustdar as president and chief executive officer. Doustdar brings over three decades of industry experience to the role, having most recently served as Novo’s executive vice president of international operations for the past ten years. He originally joined the company in 1992 and held a range of positions across finance, IT, logistics, operations and marketing, before being promoted to general manager of Novo Nordisk Near East. Doustdar subsequently held roles of increasing responsibility at the company, including vice president of business area Near East, head of business area Oceania South East Asia, and senior vice president of international operations. He also currently serves as a member of Orion Corporation’s board of directors.
Novartis
Mukul Mehta
Novartis has appointed Mukul Mehta as chief financial officer and a member of its executive committee. Mehta brings over 20 years of experience to the position, having held key finance leadership roles across geographies and business units. Mehta will continue to serve as Novartis’ head of BPA, digital finance and tax until March 2026, when he will assume his latest role.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals
Renée Galá
Jazz Pharmaceuticals has appointed Renée Galá as president and chief executive officer. Galá was most recently Jazz's president and chief operating officer, after joining the company in 2020 as executive vice president and chief financial officer. She previously served as chief financial officer at GRAIL, and as senior vice president and chief financial officer at Theravance Biopharma.
ABPI
Laura McMullin
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has appointed Laura McMullin as vice president. McMullin currently serves as general manager at Daiichi Sankyo UK and previously held roles of increasing responsibility over 18 years at Bristol Myers Squibb, culminating in her position as executive director, worldwide commercial, cardiovascular.
UKHSA
Robin May
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has appointed Robin May as interim chief scientific officer. May has most recently been serving as professor of infectious diseases at the University of Birmingham and as chief scientific adviser at the Food Standards Agency. He was also previously director of the Institute of Microbiology and Infection.
Evox Therapeutics
Michael Benatar
Evox Therapeutics has appointed Michael Benatar as a member of its scientific advisory board. Benatar is a professor of neurology and the Walter Bradley chair in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis research at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He is also principle investigator of the ongoing Pre-Symptomatic Familial ALS (Pre-fALS) study.
Evox Therapeutics
Sarah Tabrizi
Evox Therapeutics has appointed Sarah Tabrizi as a member of its scientific advisory board. Tabrizi brings extensive experience in neurodegeneration diseases to the role. She currently serves as professor of neurology at University College London (UCL), director of the UCL Huntington’s disease centre, and group leader at the UK Dementia Research Institute.
Evox Therapeutics
Fyodor Urnov
Evox Therapeutics has appointed Fyodor Urnov as a member of its scientific advisory board. Urnov is currently professor of molecular therapeutics at the University of California, Berkeley, and director at the Innovative Genomics Institute. He previously co-developed foundational CRISPR/Cas tools and was a co-founder of the CRISPR Cures centre.
Agios Pharmaceuticals
Jay Backstrom
Agios Pharmaceuticals has appointed Jay Backstrom to its board of directors. Backstrom most recently served as president and chief executive officer of Scholar Rock. Prior to this, he was executive vice president of research and development at Acceleron Pharma, as well as chief medical officer and head of global regulatory affairs at Celgene Corporation.