Andrea Pfeifer is stepping down at AC Immune, closing out one of the longer uninterrupted CEO runs in recent biotech history.
The immediate consequence: AC Immune is conducting a CEO search for the very first time. Pfeifer has led the company since its founding, which means the board is now replacing someone who has never needed replacing before. The logistics of that process, from search parameters to interim leadership structure, haven’t been made public. The board is effectively starting from scratch in a process it has never had reason to run before.
For AC Immune, the practical question is what transition looks like with no precedent to draw on. Her tenure accumulates institutional knowledge that doesn’t move cleanly to a new executive. The company hasn’t provided a search timeline, hasn’t named an interim CEO, and hasn’t signaled whether it will promote from within or look externally.
The clock is running.
Diana Kowalski