Ex-GSK Exec to Steer Sangamo; Lanphier Switches Roles

Edward Lanphier is retiring as the president and CEO of Sangamo Biosciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGMO]]), paving the way for Alexander Macrae—a former GlaxoSmithKline and later Takeda executive—to take over the Richmond, CA-based gene editing company. Macrae began in his new role today, while Lanphier will become chairman of Sangamo’s board after the company’s annual shareholder meeting on June 14.

Author: Ben Fidler

Ben is former Xconomy Deputy Editor, Biotechnology. He is a seasoned business journalist that comes to Xconomy after a nine-year stint at The Deal, where he covered corporate transactions in industries ranging from biotech to auto parts and gaming. Most recently, Ben was The Deal’s senior healthcare writer, focusing on acquisitions, venture financings, IPOs, partnerships and industry trends in the pharmaceutical, biotech, diagnostics and med tech spaces. Ben wrote features on creative biotech financing models, analyses of middle market and large cap buyouts, spin-offs and restructurings, and enterprise pieces on legal issues such as pay-for-delay agreements and the Affordable Care Act. Before switching to the healthcare beat, Ben was The Deal's senior bankruptcy reporter, covering the restructurings of the Texas Rangers, Phoenix Coyotes, GM, Delphi, Trump Entertainment Resorts and Blockbuster, among others. Ben has a bachelor’s degree in English from Binghamton University.