In a sudden leadership shift, Legend Biotech announced that its CEO Ying Huang, Ph.D., resigned on Friday, with no permanent replacement yet named.
After Huang handed in his notice, Legend’s board appointed Alan Bash as the company’s interim CEO on July 23, an SEC filing (PDF) shows. A “comprehensive search process to identify a permanent successor” is underway, the company said in a July 27 press release.
Bash joined Legend as president of Carvykti in 2024, four years after Huang’s elevation from CFO to CEO when the company’s founder Fangliang Zhang, Ph.D., was under investigations in China over customs issues. Zhang returned to his post as Legend’s chairman in 2022 as authorities closed the probe without any charges.
In his role, Bash has been managing Legend’s commercial operations, specifically, Carvykti, the Johnson & Johnson-partnered multiple myeloma CAR-T therapy which is the bread and butter of Legend’s business.
Huang’s resignation “was not the result of any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company’s operations, policies or practices or the Company’s financial statements or internal controls over financial reporting,” Legend said in a July 27 SEC filing.
Huang will remain as an advisor through August to support a smooth transition. That seemingly amicable exit stands in contrast to Legend’s past leadership drama, notably its messy split with scientific co-founder and former chief scientific officer, Frank Fan, M.D., Ph.D., in 2022, which triggered lawsuits that eventually didn’t go Legend’s way.
“On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Ying for his leadership, dedication and many contributions to Legend Biotech during the past seven years,” Zhang said in a July 27 statement. “During his tenure, Legend Biotech advanced from a pioneering cell therapy company into a global leader with a strong commercial foundation, a differentiated innovation platform, and a clear commitment to patients. We are grateful for Ying’s continued support through the transition and wish him well in his next chapter.”
As for Bash, his “immediate focus will be on ensuring continuity across the business, maintaining strong execution, and supporting our teams as we continue advancing our commercial, clinical, and operational priorities,” according to a statement.
In the past two years or so, Legend has come under pressure from potential competition to Carvykti, as well as geopolitical risks given its ties to China.
Legend’s stock price hit its lowest in years in February amid ongoing concerns regarding rival treatments such as Gilead Sciences’ CAR-T candidate anito-cel and J&J’s bispecific antibody regimens.
Legend’s shares enjoyed a rally in early June after the company reported encouraging early-phase data for LB2501, a CD19/CD20 dual-targeting in vivo CAR-T therapy. Data revealed at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology included a 100% objective response rate at the highest-dose chort of six patients with pretreated B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, an 83.3% complete response rate, with a relatively clean safety profile without any serious adverse events or neurotoxicity.
However, the company’s stock price has since fallen back to pre-ASCO levels as concerns over Carvykti’s market position and the lack of mid- to late-stage pipeline assets took hold again.
On July 15, while partner J&J reported another record quarter of Carvykti sales that roughly met analysts’ expectations, Legend’s shares dropped 10%. On J&J’s earnings call that day, Jennifer Taubert, worldwide chair of innovative medicine, described the company’s off-the-shelf combination of Tecvayli and Darzalex as holding “the potential for cure” in previously treated myeloma.
Then on July 23, the day that Bash was named interim CEO of Legend, J&J reported jaw-dropping efficacy from its dual-bispecific combination of Tecvayli and Talvey. Compared with standard of care, the two T-cell engagers improved progression free survival by 89% and overall survival by 62% in earlier-line myeloma.