Anika Therapeutics, Cheryl Blanchard

Anika Therapeutics recruits from within to promote Cheryl Blanchard from a position on the board to take on the full-time role of CEO, after she had held the role on an interim basis from February of this year.

The role will not be the first leadership position Blanchard has taken, previously she worked as CEO of Microchips Biotech and CSO of Zimmer Biomet.

In addition, the area of regenerative medicine within which Anika operates will be a familiar one, as Blanchard had created a regenerative medicine and medical device practice at Southwest Research Institute.

Blanchard’s primary focus for Anika Therapeutics will be to turn around the biotech’s fortunes, following a turbulent period that saw its lead product, Cingal (triamcinolone hexacetonide), fail to meet its endpoint in a Phase III trial for the treatment of arthritis, and the unfortunate death of its CEO, Joseph Darling, which necessitated the search for a new CEO.