Achaogen, Inc. has announced that Blake Wise, currently the company’s president and chief operating officer, will become chief executive officer effective January 1, 2018. He will also be joining Achaogen’s board of directors.

Kenneth Hillan, the company’s current chief executive officer, will move on to the newly created role of president of R&D, and president of Achaogen overall. Dr. Hillan will remain on the company’s board of directors.

“Achaogen is preparing for approval of its first drug, plazomicin, and Blake’s experience scaling and leading commercial organizations is perfectly suited to maximizing this stage of growth, and value, of the Company. At the same time, we are extremely fortunate to have Kenneth in a role that fully leverages his passion and success at the intersection of preclinical research and clinical drug development,” said Bryan Roberts, chairman of Achaogen’s Board of Directors and a partner at the venture capital firm Venrock.