AC Immune SA (NASDAQ: ACIU) announced that co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Dr Andrea Pfeifer will retire from her position at the company's upcoming Annual General Meeting after 23 years with the biopharmaceutical company.

Board Chair Dr Martin Zügel will serve as interim CEO while the company searches for a permanent successor. Dr Pfeifer will transition to roles as Advisor, Honorary Chair of the Board of Directors, and Co-Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board.

"It has been a great honor to serve as CEO of AC Immune together with so many dedicated and brilliant colleagues over the years," Dr Pfeifer said in the announcement. She cited wanting to spend more time with her family as the reason for her retirement.

Dr Pfeifer co-founded AC Immune in 2003 and led the company's listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange in 2016. Under her leadership, the Lausanne, Switzerland-based company developed a pipeline focused on neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Dr Zügel brings 30 years of executive and board-level experience in multinational healthcare companies. He previously served as CEO of Merz Pharma GmbH and was involved in developing memantine into an Alzheimer's treatment. He currently serves on boards of Grünenthal, AMW GmbH, and MESI Ltd.

AC Immune currently has three Precision Prevention candidates for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases in clinical trials. The company maintains strategic partnerships with Eli Lilly, Takeda, and Johnson & Johnson, with potential milestone payments exceeding $4.5 billion plus royalties.

The board has engaged an industry consultant to conduct the search for a permanent CEO replacement.