COO Metzger now CEO at Syndax as Morrison shifts to R&D
Plus Dubin named president of Takeda’s vaccine unit and updates from Mizuho, Quest and more
President and COO Michael Metzger has taken over the CEO slot at Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:SNDX) from longtime colleague Briggs Morrison, who becomes president and head of R&D. Morrison had been CEO since he and Metzger joined the cancer company in 2015. Metzger said the move better aligns the executives’ roles and priorities with their “areas of expertise”. He will focus on laying the groundwork to grow the company into a commercial biotech and expanding the pipeline via BD; Morrison will continue to lead R&D while aiming to bring two assets across the regulatory goal line and helping to add new assets. Syndax is developing SNDX-5613, a menin inhibitor for AML, and axatilimab, a CSF-1 receptor mAb for GVHD.
Gary Dubin has become president of the vaccine business unit of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4502; NYSE:TAK), succeeding Rajeev Venkayya who is leaving to become CEO of a venture-backed company focused on COVID-19 and future pandemic threats. Dubin has been at Takeda for six years, most recently as head of the company’s vaccine business unit’s global medical office. Prior to that, he spent 20 years at GlaxoSmithKline plc (LSE:GSK; NYSE:GSK), including a stint as VP and head of global clinical development, advancing many GSK vaccine candidates to licensure and commercialization...