US biopharmaceutical business Incyte has named Richard Hoffman as general counsel, replacing Sheila Denton who is leaving the company in the new year.
Hoffman joins from Goodwin where he was a partner in Boston covering the biotechnology and life sciences industries. At Incyte he will be responsible for overseeing the company’s legal and compliance functions, and will sit on the executive leadership team. He brings more than three decades of legal and business experience, with particular expertise in venture financing, M&A, IPOs and global collaborations.
Delaware-based Incyte specialises in oncology and inflammation and autoimmunity-related medicines. It has operations in North America, Europe and Asia.
Bill Meury, president and CEO of Incyte, said: “Richard joins us with a distinguished background, including many years of experience as a partner at a premier law firm, and a proven track record advising biopharma companies on corporate governance, strategic transactions, intellectual property and litigation.”
Meury added that Hoffman’s “exceptional legal acumen and sound judgement” will help guide Incyte through its next phase of innovation and growth.
Hoffman arrives after almost a decade at Goodwin, having previously been a partner at WilmerHale in its transactions department and corporate practice group. Prior to that he ran his own consulting business supporting entrepreneurs and early-stage biotech, medical device and healthcare information companies with legal and business advice.
He also had spells in industry, co-founding Keel Pharmaceuticals and TargetRX, a pharmaceutical marketing services business, alongside other non-legal roles at a range of pharma-related businesses.
He started his legal career at WilmerHale in 1987, where he spent just over six years during his first stint at the firm.
Denton, meanwhile, departs after just over two years with the company, having previously been GC for Boehringer Ingelheim’s US pharma and animal health businesses. Incyte says she is leaving to pursue new professional opportunities, though she will stay on until the new year to provide transition support to Hoffman.
In other pharma-related moves, last month biopharma research business Fortrea appointed Agnieszka Gallagher as GC, replacing Stillman Hanson. While back in July, US medical device business Medtronic hired Michelle Quinn as GC from medtech peer Becton Dickinson.
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