SVP, Head of Translational Medicine needed at Clinical Stage neurodegenerative and age-related disease focused BioPharma

Alkahest is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing treatments for neurodegenerative and age-related diseases with transformative therapies targeting the aging plasma proteome. They were acquired by Grifols, a leading global producer of plasma-derived medicines and a leader in the development of innovative diagnostic solutions in early 2021 and continues to operate as an independent company.

LifeSci placed Alkahest’s CMO, Dr. César Cerezo MD, PhD, as Chief Medical Officer in July 2021. Having played a significant role in the advancement of multiple clinical development programs across diverse therapeutic areas, he brought robust experience, invaluable leadership, and strategic insight. César asked us to help recruit a new Head of Translational Medicine to join his team.

The Approach

We kicked off the search casting a wide net within the Bay Area. We focused on candidates that were experienced physician scientists with expertise in translational research, translational medicine, biomarker development, as well as drug development. We began the search at a VP level, but given our lead candidate’s 4 years of experience at the VP level, he was seeking a SVP title. We found and presented Carl Millward, MD, VP of Translational Medicine at Atreca, Inc. With his extensive experience in translational medicine, Alkahest selected Carl as their new SVP, Head of Translational Medicine.

The Outcome

LifeSci introduced and Alkahest selected Carl Millward, MD to join Alkahest in March 2022 as SVP, Head of Translational Medicine. Carl brings 25 years of combined clinical and biopharma indsitry experience, expertise in translational research, translational medicine,, biomarker and diagnostics development, drug development, patient tailoring, companion diagnostics, and experimental pathology to the Alkahest team. Alkahest’s management team recognized  him as a great culture fit and were thrilled that he was located near the team in the Bay Area. LifeSci completed the search in 3 months.