36-37 Your Moves

AbbVie has appointed Kelly Sanderson Schrems as its new UK vice president and general manager, taking responsibility for the company’s strategy, commercial performance and partnerships across the region.

The appointment marks a significant leadership transition for the organisation as it continues to expand its presence in immunology, oncology, neuroscience and other therapeutic areas.
According to the company, Kelly brings extensive experience in global and regional leadership roles, having worked across multiple markets and functions during her career. She will oversee AbbVie’s UK operations, including its commercial teams, strategic planning and engagement with NHS partners, industry bodies and patient organisations.

Kelly said: "I am honoured to take on this role and to work alongside such a talented team." She added: "AbbVie has a strong legacy of innovation and partnership in the UK, and I look forward to building on that foundation to help improve outcomes for patients."

She explained that the company remains committed to collaborating with healthcare partners to address unmet needs and support sustainable access to medicines. "Together with our partners, we can help ensure that patients receive the treatments they need at the right time," she said.

Opella has strengthened its global commercial organisation with the appointment of Victoria Tiffin as Chief Sales Officer, a newly created role that will see her lead the global sales function and join the company’s executive committee.

Her remit includes scaling commercial execution, deepening customer partnerships and unlocking growth across international markets.

Victoria brings more than 25 years of international experience in the fast-moving consumer goods sector. She joins from Procter & Gamble, where she led the $6.5bn global grooming division, driving business turnarounds, expanding premium portfolios and accelerating direct-to-consumer capabilities. Her leadership track record spans commercial discipline, transformation at scale and the development of high-performing sales organisations.

At Opella, Victoria will work closely with local commercial teams, brands, e-commerce and marketing to identify opportunities to drive growth and bring the company’s brands closer to consumers worldwide.

Victoria said: "I am excited to join Opella at such a pivotal moment. Winning in today’s environment starts with truly understanding consumers and acting with speed and precision. Together with our teams and partners, we will raise the bar on execution and make our brands more accessible, relevant, and impactful in every market."

Julie Van Ongevalle, Opella president and CEO, said: "Victoria’s appointment marks an important step in building a stronger, more integrated commercial model at Opella. Her ability to transform organizations and deliver growth will help us reach more people and create lasting value with and for our customers and consumers worldwide."

AstronauTx has expanded its senior team with the appointment of Michelle Mellion as chief medical officer, bringing more than 20 years of neurology, clinical development and translational expertise as the company prepares to move its lead programmes into clinical development.

The company has also appointed Deb Gouveia as Vice President, Clinical Operations and Development Strategy to further strengthen its clinical capabilities.

Michelle is an experienced neurologist and clinical development leader with a track record of advancing therapies for neurological and rare diseases, including neuromuscular conditions.

She previously served as chief medical officer at PepGen and EveryONE Medicines, where she led clinical development for oligonucleotide therapeutics and individualised medicines for ultra-rare disorders.

Earlier roles at Biogen, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Fulcrum Therapeutics saw her contribute to programmes in remyelination, pain and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.

In her new role, Michelle will lead clinical strategy and development activities, working closely with the executive team to progress AstronauTx’s pipeline.

Meanwhile, Deb brings more than 25 years of experience building and leading clinical operations, regulatory, quality and development functions across emerging biotechnology companies.

Jane Rhodes, Chief Executive Officer at AstronauTx, said: "Michelle’s appointment marks an important milestone for AstronauTx. Her track record in advancing therapies for neurological and rare diseases aligns strongly with our ambition to develop transformative treatments targeting sleep architecture.

"As we build out our clinical capabilities and progress our pipeline, the appointments of Michelle and Deb strengthen the expertise driving our transition into clinical stage development."
Michelle added: "AstronauTx represents a rare opportunity to help define an entirely new therapeutic category at the intersection of sleep biology and neurodegenerative disease.

“The Company’s innovative approach to leveraging slow-wave sleep modulation as a potential disease-modifying strategy is both scientifically compelling and strategically differentiated, and I am excited to work with the team to advance these programmes into clinical development."

Symeres has appointed Dr Henning Steinhagen as its new Chief Executive Officer as the company prepares for its next phase of strategic growth.

He succeeds Guillaume Jetten, who has led the organisation through a period of expansion and transformation, strengthening its operational and scientific foundations.

The leadership change follows a planned transition designed to support Symeres’ evolution into a fully integrated transatlantic partner.

The company now brings together more than 500 scientists across nine global sites, with multidisciplinary expertise spanning chemistry, biology, ADME-tox and CMC.

Henning’s scientific background and commercial experience are expected to support further growth as the organisation scales its services and market presence.

In his new role, Henning will focus on advancing the company’s vision of being a partner from discovery through development, centred on its integrated ‘One Symeres’ platform.

This approach underpins strategic partnerships across biotech and pharma and aligns with the company’s reputation for scientific depth.

Henning said: "I was drawn to Symeres because of its unique capabilities and legacy in delivering and supporting biopharma from inception to IND." He added: "The team brings together deep scientific depth and a way of working that is genuinely collaborative and responsive."

He explained: "With strong foundations in place, the opportunity ahead is to fully realize and unlock the power of integrated services across chemistry and biology. The goal is to create best-in-class solutions to rapidly advance even the most challenging programs for the benefit of our customers and ultimately patients."

Reflecting on the transition, Guillaume Jetten said: "Recently, we have made strong progress in bringing together our teams, capabilities and culture into one organisation."

He added: "We are now seeing clear validation from our customers, who value the continuity, scientific depth and collaborative approach we offer. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved and confident that Dr Steinhagen will build on this momentum and lead Symeres through its next phase of growth."

Ardena has expanded its executive team with the appointments of Ben Ash as chief financial officer and Henny Zijlstra as chief commercial officer, strengthening its leadership as the company continues to scale its global operations and commercial reach.

Ben joins Ardena with more than 20 years of finance leadership experience across publicly listed and privately held pharmaceutical companies in the UK and US. He most recently served as chief financial officer at Essential Pharma, and previously held senior finance roles at PTC Therapeutics and Shire.

At Ardena, Ben will lead financial strategy to support scalable growth and disciplined international expansion, working closely with the chief information officer to advance the company’s digitisation road map.

Henny Zijlstra brings extensive commercial leadership experience within the pharmaceutical and CDMO sectors, having held senior roles at Lonza and most recently Adragos.

At Ardena, Henny will lead the commercial organisation across business development and marketing, with a focus on elevating brand presence, accelerating go-to-market strategy, broadening customer engagement and increasing visibility of Ardena’s capabilities in complex molecules, nanotechnology, drug conjugates and bioanalysis.

Ben said: "Ardena has a very strong operational foundation and a uniquely differentiated scientific offering. I am very excited to join the company, and I look forward to supporting its next phase of international growth, and enabling rapid, scalable expansion."

Henny added: "Ardena is at an exciting stage in its growth journey, with a strong reputation among biotech innovators, deep scientific expertise and a growing international platform, including its recent expansion in the US. That creates a unique opportunity to build stronger brand recognition and commercial leadership in the drug development space.”

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