Leading Women CEOs Across Pharma and Biotech: A 2026 Snapshot

Over the past few years, women in senior leadership roles across pharma and biotech have been closely linked to some of the industry’s most significant developments.

Recent examples include Sharon Mates, who led Intra-Cellular Therapies from early development through the FDA approval of Caplyta and its $14.6 billion acquisition by Johnson & Johnson in 2025. Similar moments have played out across gene therapy, RNA-based medicines, oncology and neuroscience, as women executives have overseen drug approvals, late-stage clinical programs and major strategic transitions.

This year’s leadership landscape spans established CEOs and executives stepping into top roles. It also includes recent appointments in drug development services, such as Marie-Hélène Raigneau at Altasciences.

In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, 2026, we highlighted a select group of women leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Julie Kim, CEO-elect, Takeda Pharmaceuticals

Julie Kim was appointed CEO-elect of Takeda Pharmaceuticals by the company’s board. She is scheduled to succeed Christophe Weber as President and CEO in June 2026. Beginning April 1, 2026, she will join Takeda’s executive leadership team during an extended handover period.

As part of that handover, Kim stepped back from her role as President of Takeda’s US business unit, with Rhonda Pacheco appointed to succeed her in September 2025. Kim is also serving as Interim Head of Takeda’s Global Portfolio Division while preparing to assume the CEO role. She previously led Takeda’s plasma-derived therapies business before overseeing the company’s US operations. During this period, Takeda disclosed plans to invest approximately $30 billion in the US over five years.

Emma Walmsley, — Former CEO, GSK

Emma Walmsley stepped down as CEO of GSK at the end of 2025 after nearly nine years leading the UK-based pharmaceutical company, with former Cchief Ccommercial Oofficer Luke Miels succeeding her on January 1, 2026. During her tenure, GSK completed the spin-off of its consumer healthcare business into Haleon and sharpened its focus on specialty medicines and vaccines.

In 2025, GSK announced plans to invest $30 billion in the US over five years. The US accounts for more than half of the company’s global sales. During this period, GSK also outlined an expanded role for AI across research, manufacturing and commercial operations. Walmsley remained with the company into 2026 to support the leadership transition. Walmsley also serves on the board of Microsoft.

Reshma Kewalramani, President and CEO, Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Reshma Kewalramani has served as President and CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals since 2020, after joining the company in 2017 as Chief Medical Officer. She trained in internal medicine and nephrology before entering the biopharmaceutical industry, after immigrating to the US from India as a child. In her tenure, Vertex secured FDA approvals for milestone drugs including Casgevy, a gene-edited therapy for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia, and Journavx, a non-opioid pain treatment. During this period, the company also completed the $4.5 billion acquisition of Alpine Immune Sciences.

In 2025, Kewalramani was named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential People list and Fortune’s 100 Most Powerful People in Business. That same year, her total compensation rose to $21.5 million, placing her among some of the highest-paid pharma CEOs.

Yvonne Greenstreet, CEO, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals

Yvonne Greenstreet is the CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, and assumed the role in 2022. She previously held senior leadership positions in R&D and corporate strategy across large pharma. In 2025, Greenstreet was included on Fortune’s 50 Over 50 list.

During her leadership, Alnylam has maintained a portfolio of FDA-approved RNA interference-based medicines, including treatments for hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis, acute hepatic porphyria and primary hyperoxaluria type 1. The company also has additional clinical programs across cardiovascular, hepatic and central nervous system indications. In 2025, the FDA approved Amvuttra (vutrisiran), the first RNAi therapeutic, for the treatment of transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM).

Belén Garijo, Chair of the Executive Board and CEO, Merck KGaA (through April 2026); CEO-designate, Sanofi

Belén Garijo has served as Chair of the Executive Board and CEO of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, since 2021. Her tenure concludes at the end of April 2026, following 15 years at the company in senior leadership roles, including CEO of the Healthcare business sector. As CEO, Garijo led Merck during the COVID-19 period and through a series of portfolio changes. These included the acquisition of SpringWorks Therapeutics and the divestiture of the Surface Solutions business. 

Kai Beckmann would succeed Belén as CEO effective May 1, 2026. Belén has also been appointed to succeed Paul Hudson as CEO of Sanofi, beginning in late April 2026. She has served as a board member at L’Oréal, and will assume leadership as Sanofi navigates pressure in its vaccine business, particularly in the US.

Bahija Jallal, CEO, Immunocore

Bahija Jallal became the CEO of Immunocore in 2019, a UK-based biotech company developing T-cell receptor-based therapies. She held prior senior R&D leadership roles at AstraZeneca and its biologics arm, MedImmune. In 2025, Immunocore was included in Dealroom’s “Thoroughbreds 100” list of EMEA companies reporting more than $100 million in annual revenue. Bahija, who was born in Morocco and trained as an immunologist, is currently the only female CEO leading a UK-based company on the list. 

In 2022, Immunocore received FDA approval for Kimmtrak (tebentafusp) for the treatment of uveal melanoma, making it the company’s first approved therapy. Since then, the company has continued to evaluate tebentafusp in additional melanoma settings and has advanced brenetafusp, a second T-cell engager, into late-stage clinical development for cutaneous melanoma in combination with nivolumab.

Michelle Xia, Co-Founder, Chairwoman, President and CEO, Akeso

CEO Michelle Xia leads Akeso, a biotech company based in China with a focus on oncology and immunology. She founded the company in 2012, at a time when domestic drug innovation in China was still limited. Akeso has received regulatory approval in China for several oncology therapies, including ivonescimab, a PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody designed to combine immune checkpoint inhibition with anti-angiogenic activity. The therapy is being evaluated in late-stage clinical trials for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and has been licensed to Summit Therapeutics for development outside China. 

In 2025, Akeso received its first FDA approval for penpulimab-kcqx for certain head and neck cancers. That same year, Xia was named to TIME100 Health and recognized among The 100 Most Influential People in Oncology.

Daphne Zohar, Founder and CEO, Seaport Therapeutics

Daphne Zohar is the Founder and CEO of Seaport Therapeutics, a neuroscience-focused biotech launched in 2024 with $100 million in Series A financing and a subsequent $225 million raise. The company is advancing programs designed to improve the delivery and tolerability of established neuropsychiatric drug mechanisms, informed by prior late-stage experience in the field.

Daphne previously founded and led PureTech Health, where she helped launch Karuna Therapeutics, the company behind KarXT, an oral muscarinic receptor agonist approved in 2024 for schizophrenia and later acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb. At Seaport, she has pointed to execution discipline and clinical trial design as priorities in a therapeutic area historically marked by high attrition.

Suma Krishnan, Co-Founder and President of R&D, Krystal Biotech

Suma Krishnan is the Co-Founder and President of R&D at Krystal Biotech. She co-founded the company in 2016 following a career in drug development spanning rare disease, neuroscience and gene therapy. In 2023, the FDA approved Krystal’s Vyjuvek for the treatment of dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, making it the first topical gene therapy approved for this rare genetic skin disorder. In 2026, the FDA granted Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation to KB707, an investigational inhaled gene therapy for advanced NSCLC.

Suma joined Yvonne on Fortune’s 2025 50 Over 50 list. She and her husband, Krystal Biotech CEO Krish Krishnan, together hold approximately a 12% ownership stake in the company.

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