John Leonard, M.D., has been named president and chief executive officer, Intellia Therapeutics, Inc., effective January 1, 2018. Intellia is a genome editing company focused on developing curative therapeutics using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Dr. Leonard succeeds Nessan Bermingham, Ph.D., Intellia’s founding president, who is returning to the venture capital industry. Dr. Leonard will lead the company as it progresses toward clinical development, leveraging his experience in successfully developing biopharmaceutical products and leading large scientific organizations.

Dr. Leonard joined the company in 2014, initially serving as chief medical officer. In 2016, Dr. Leonard became executive vice president of R&D. Prior to Intellia, Dr. Leonard was chief scientific officer and senior vice president of R&D at AbbVie, which was spun off from Abbott Laboratories in 2013. At Abbott, Dr. Leonard served as senior vice president of Global Pharmaceutical R&D from 2008 to 2012.

Dr. Leonard was responsible for the development of the HIV protease inhibitors Norvir and Kaletra, which led to new treatment paradigms for HIV/AIDS. He also led AbbVie’s HCV programs, oncology efforts, and guided the development of HUMIRA.   

“After nearly four years of building Intellia and this exceptional team, the company is now poised to begin development of CRISPR/Cas9-based therapies,” said Dr. Bermingham. “At this stage, Intellia requires a CEO with a track record of successful drug development. John was the first to join me in starting Intellia, and was an ideal partner because of his unmatched R&D expertise and biopharmaceutical leadership experience. As I return to my roots in biotech venture capital, I am confident that Intellia, the science and our employees are in great hands.”

“With more than a 30-year career in biopharmaceutical R&D, John is well recognized as a premier R&D leader, having developed many breakthrough medicines that turned into life-improving therapies for patients. As Intellia progresses towards clinical development, we are fortunate that he will lead the company,” said Intellia’s chairman Perry Karsen. “We thank Nessan for his passion and leadership in taking Intellia from an idea through preclinical science, initial public offering and the path to the clinic. As Intellia’s founder, Nessan had great vision for what was possible with the CRISPR/Cas9 technology and its application in human therapeutics.”