Ipsen SA said David Meek resigned as CEO and as a board member, effective Dec. 31, to join Switzerland-based FerGene as president and CEO.

Meek has been the CEO of the French biopharmaceutical company since July 2016.

Privately held FerGene, a unit of Ferring Holding SA, is a new joint venture between Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. and private equity firm Blackstone Life Sciences Advisors LLC that aims to develop Ferring's experimental gene therapy nadofaragene firadenovec for bladder cancer.

Ipsen said CFO Aymeric Le Chatelier will act as interim CEO as of Jan. 1, 2020. Ipsen's board has asked the nominations committee to immediately begin the search for a new CEO.