Tessera Therapeutics names former Merck executive as new CEO

Tessera Therapeutics has appointed Joseph Romanelli as President and Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Michael Severino, who has led the company since June 2022, according to a press release.

Romanelli joins from Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK), where he most recently served as President of Human Health International and a member of the company's Executive Team, overseeing a business of more than $25 billion across 75 markets outside the United States. During his nearly 30-year career at Merck, he also led the company's China operations from 2016 through 2021. Romanelli will join Tessera's board of directors and will also join Flagship Pioneering, Tessera's founder, as a CEO-Partner.

The leadership transition comes as Tessera has advanced its first in vivo gene editing program, TSRA-196, into the clinic. TSRA-196 is being jointly developed and commercialized with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN) for the treatment of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. Tessera's pipeline also includes a development candidate for sickle cell disease and efforts toward in vivo chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T therapies for oncology and autoimmune diseases. The Gates Foundation has committed an investment of up to $50 million to support development of an in vivo gene editing therapy for sickle cell disease.

Tessera Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company founded in 2018 by Flagship Pioneering.

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