Clinigen appoints Dr Varun Sethi as Acting CEO to enable future growth
LONDON, UK - 16 September 2025: Clinigen, the global specialty pharmaceutical services company, today announces the appointment Dr Varun Sethi as Acting CEO with immediate effect, replacing Jerome Charton. A formal search for a permanent CEO has been launched.
Dr Varun Sethi currently serves as the Senior Vice President JAPAC at Clinigen, joining the company in August 2024. He is a seasoned healthcare executive with over 22+ years’ experience across pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and diagnostics, and has a deep understanding of the healthcare landscape in Asia Pacific. In the past year, he has led a significant turnaround of the JAPAC business, driving growth and expanding Clinigen’s market footprint.
Prior to Clinigen, Varun has held senior leadership roles at DKSH, Fortis Healthcare and Baxter International. He has been a member of the boards of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Malaysia (PhAMA) and Singapore Association of Pharmaceutical Companies (SAPI) where he served as Treasurer in both industry associations. He holds a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Illinois, Chicago, as well as an Executive Certification in marketing and sales from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Chicago.
As Clinigen continues to grow and internationalise rapidly, the change in leadership will allow for both expansion of the business’ geographic footprint and service offerings, as well as into new client verticals. Varun’s experience in international pharmaceutical businesses will allow the company to continue on its growth trajectory, into the next phase of the business.
Paul Carter, Non-Executive Chairman of Clinigen, said; “Varun has leadership experience across the healthcare ecosystem, and I’m delighted to welcome him to the board as we continue our strategic evolution into a premier end to end service provider. I would like to thank Jerome for the outstanding work he has done in the last couple of years, transitioning Clinigen from a publicly listed company and laying the foundations for our next stage of growth. We wish him well in his future ventures.”
Dr Varun Sethi, Acting CEO of Clinigen, said; “I am honoured to step into the CEO role at Clinigen, taking over to drive the transformative growth journey that we have initiated. Firstly, I want to thank the board for the trust they’ve placed in me to lead the company, I want to also acknowledge the contributions of Jerome, who drove the initial phase of the leadership transformation. Our organisation is primed to accelerate growth, by focusing on our collective enterprise value proposition, deepening our customer relationships and enhancing execution excellence. We are anchored by our singular purpose of being the global pathfinder of critical medicines for patients.”
Jerome Charton, outgoing CEO of Clinigen, said; “It has been a pleasure to see Clinigen continue to move from strength to strength in my years with the business. As the company looks to further continue down this path, I felt that it was the right time to pass Clinigen’s leadership to someone who could continue to internationalise the business, while focusing on what truly makes it a market-leader.”
Varun’s appointment follows the recent strengthening of Clinigen’s operational leadership team and a series of strategic acquisitions to further enhance its specialist capabilities across the pharmaceutical lifecycle. These include Drug Safety Navigator, Ascenian Consulting, and Kinesys Consulting, strengthening the Group’s expertise in market access and regulatory affairs, as well as a minority stake in Tepsivo, an AI-powered pharmacovigilance platform. Together, these moves reinforce Clinigen’s commitment to delivering smarter, more integrated solutions for clients and patients worldwide.
Contact details:
Fight or Flight on behalf of Clinigen
Email: clinigen@fightorflight.com
About Clinigen
Clinigen is a global pharmaceutical services company trusted by over 1,000 pharma and biotech partners. With more than 35 years of experience, we accelerate access to critical medicines at every stage of the product lifecycle. As pathfinders, our team of over 1,100 specialists expertly navigates the complexities of clinical trial supply, early access programmes, regulatory services, and long-term commercialisation through both licensed and unlicensed pathways. Operating across five continents, we deliver innovative solutions to over 130 countries each year. Whatever the challenge, we find a way.
Explore our services at http://www.clinigen.com