New hires:

Deerfield Agency, a 2023 MM+M Agency 100 honoree, hired Eric Steckelman to serve as EVP of business development.

Madrigal Pharmaceuticals named industry veteran Mardi C. Dier as CFO.

CG Life, a 2023 MM+M Agency 100 honoree, appointed Chris Weber as its SVP of strategy.

Seres Therapeutics announced Marella Thorell will join as EVP and CFO, effective March 25, following David Arkowitz’s retirement.

Imre appointed Aleisia Gibson Wright as chief growth officer.

Clinical-stage biopharma Bexion Pharmaceuticals tabbed Dr. Tariq Arshad as chief medical officer.

Healthy.io named Becca LaFond as its U.S. GM.

Rapport Therapeutics appointed Kathy Wilkinson as chief people officer.

Greg Merril joined Simmbion as executive director.

Executive elevations:

VML Health unveiled some key creative leadership changes affecting its C-suite, including naming Mel Routhier as global chief creative officer for health and wellness.

Board appointments:

Aivita Biomedical named former Biogen CEO Michel Vounatsos to its board of directors.

AI SaaS provider Aizon appointed Scott B. Waldman as an independent director.

Kalderos added Sapere Health Solutions CEO Robyn Peters and industry veteran Bill Sarraille to its board of directors.

AxoSim named Dale Pfost and David Weiner as co-chairs of its board of directors.

Departures:

Lincoln Pharmaceuticals said Meha Patel resigned as a non-executive independent woman director due to personal reasons.

Miscellaneous:

Actress Jane Seymour has taken a lead role in battling “unseenism” in healthcare as part of the Speak Up in BE campaign from Insmed.

Ruth Gottesman, the 93-year-old widow of a Wall Street financier, donated $1 billion to Bronx-based Albert Einstein College of Medicine to provide free tuition in perpetuity.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra visited Alabama for discussions with patients and doctors following a controversial court ruling that disrupted in vitro fertilization treatment in the state.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, (D-IL.), and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, (D-N.Y.), have co-sponsored a bill that would provide national protections for assisted reproductive technologies.

Pope Francis went to the hospital for diagnostic tests after experiencing flu-like conditions on Tiber Island.
A group of nearly 30 congressmen sent a letter to President Joe Biden opposing the administration’s recent framework for exercising “march-in rights” on drug patents.