Another Gilead Exec Exits as CMO Cheng Steps Down

Another top-level Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GILD]]) executive is stepping down. Andrew Cheng, a 19-year Gilead vet who was named chief medical officer of the Foster City, CA, company just four months ago, is leaving to “pursue another opportunity.” Former research chief Norbert Bischofberger left Gilead in March to run a biotech startup, Kronos Bio. And both CEO John Milligan and chairman (and ex-CEO) John Martin are heading for the exits soon as well. Milligan will step down at the end of the year, while Martin will leave the board when Gilead names a new leader.

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.