UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14A
Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(Amendment No. )
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(Amendment No. )
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Preliminary Proxy Statement
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Definitive Proxy Statement
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Definitive Additional Materials
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Soliciting Material under §240.14a-12
BLACK DIAMOND THERAPEUTICS, INC.
(Name of registrant as specified in its charter)
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)
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BLACK DIAMOND THERAPEUTICS, INC.
One Main Street, 14 th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02142
One Main Street, 14 th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02142
NOTICE OF 2024 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS
To be held online on June 6, 2024 at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/BDTX2024
Notice is hereby given that the 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, or the Annual Meeting, of Black Diamond Therapeutics, Inc., will be held online on June 6, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The Annual Meeting will be held as a virtual meeting, which will be conducted via live webcast. We are utilizing a virtual-only meeting format in order to leverage technology to enhance stockholder access to the Annual Meeting by enabling attendance and participation from any location. We believe that the virtual-only meeting format will give stockholders the opportunity to participate fully and equally, and without cost, and to exercise the same rights as if they had attended an in-person meeting. You may attend the meeting online, vote your shares electronically and submit questions by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/BDTX2024.
The purpose of the Annual Meeting is the following:
1.
To elect two Class I director nominees to our board of directors, each to serve until the Company’s 2027 annual meeting of stockholders and until his successor has been duly elected and qualified, or until his earlier death, resignation or removal;
2.
To ratify the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024;
3.
To approve an amendment to our Fourth Amended and Restated Certification of Incorporation to limit the liability of certain officers of the Company as permitted by Delaware law; and
4.
To transact any other business properly brought before the Annual Meeting or any adjournment or postponement of the Annual Meeting.
Only Black Diamond Therapeutics, Inc. stockholders of record at the close of business on April 9, 2024, the record date for the Annual Meeting, are entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the Annual Meeting or any adjournment or postponement of the Annual Meeting.
You can find more information on each of the matters to be voted on at the Annual Meeting, including information regarding the nominees for election to our board of directors, in the accompanying proxy statement. Our board of directors recommends a vote “FOR” the election of each of the two nominees for Class I directors, “FOR” the ratification of the appointment of our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024, and “FOR” the approval of the amendment to our approval of an amendment to our Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to limit the liability of certain of our officers as permitted by Delaware law, as disclosed in more detail in the accompanying proxy statement.
We are pleased to take advantage of the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, that allow companies to distribute their proxy materials over the Internet under the “notice and access” approach. As a result, we are mailing to our stockholders a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials, or Notice of Availability, instead of a paper copy of our proxy materials and our Annual Report to Stockholders for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, or the 2023 Annual Report. We will mail the Notice of Availability on or about April 24, 2024, and it contains instructions on how to access those documents and to cast your vote via the Internet or by telephone. This process allows us to provide our stockholders with the information they need on a more timely basis, while reducing the environmental impact
and lowering the costs of printing and distributing our proxy materials. If you would like to receive a printed copy of our proxy materials, including our proxy statement, our 2023 Annual Report and a form of proxy card, free of charge, please follow the instructions on the Notice of Availability.
Please see the “General Information” section of the proxy statement that accompanies this notice for more details regarding the logistics of the virtual Annual Meeting, including the ability of stockholders to submit questions during the Annual Meeting, and technical details and support related to accessing the virtual platform. There is no physical location for the Annual Meeting. You will not be able to attend the Annual Meeting in person.
Your vote is important
.Whether or not you are able to attend the Annual Meeting virtually and vote your shares online, it is important that your shares be represented. To ensure that your vote is recorded promptly, please vote as soon as possible, even if you plan to attend the Annual Meeting, by submitting your proxy via the Internet at the address listed on the Notice of Availability, by telephone as described in the instructions included in the Notice of Availability or, if you requested copies of the proxy materials by mail, by completing, signing, dating and returning the proxy card. Submitting your vote via the Internet or by telephone or proxy card will not affect your right to vote online during the Annual Meeting if you decide to attend the Annual Meeting. If your shares are held in “street name” (i.e., held for your account by a broker or other nominee), you will receive instructions from your broker or other nominee explaining how to vote your shares, and you will have the option to cast your vote by telephone or over the Internet if your voting instruction form from your broker or nominee includes instructions and a toll-free telephone number or Internet website to do so. In any event, to be sure that your vote will be received in time, please cast your vote by your choice of available means, at your earliest convenience.
By order of the Board of Directors,
/s/ Mark A. Velleca
Mark A. Velleca
President and Chief Executive Officer
President and Chief Executive Officer
Cambridge, Massachusetts
April 24, 2024
April 24, 2024
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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PROPOSAL NO. 2 — RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP AS BLACK DIAMOND THERAPEUTICS’ INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2024
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A-1
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Name
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Positions and Offices Held with the Company
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Director Since
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Age
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| Prakash Raman, Ph.D. | | | Director | | |
2024
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| Mark A. Velleca, M.D., Ph.D. | | | President, Chief Executive Officer, Chair and Director | | |
2021
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Prakash Raman, Ph.D.
has served as a member of our board of directors since April 2024. Dr. Raman also serves on the board of directors of NAYA Biosciences, Inc. (acquired by INVO Bioscience, Inc.). Dr. Raman has over two decades of biopharmaceutical business development and executive leadership experience, blending his scientific background, program and portfolio management and strong business development experience to lead and support biopharma companies. Most recently, from February 2022 to March 2024, Dr. Raman was President and Chief Executive Officer of Ribon Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on first-in-class small molecule drugs for oncology and immunology. Previously, from October 2019 to February 2022, Dr. Raman served as Senior Partner, Chief Business Development Officer at Flagship Pioneering, or Flagship, a venture capital company, where he leveraged the platforms and assets in Flagship’s network to generate opportunities for significant value creation. Dr. Raman spent nearly fourteen years at Novartis AG, or Novartis, a publicly traded multinational pharmaceutical corporation, from 2005 until 2011 and from 2012 until October 2019, most recently as its Vice President, Global Head of Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research Business Development and Licensing. During his time at Novartis, Dr. Raman was instrumental in forging key collaborations in immuno-oncology, executing many out-licensing opportunities and guiding key acquisitions. From 2011 to 2012, Dr. Raman was Head of Project Management, Infectious Diseases at AstraZeneca plc, a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, and, from 1999 to 2005, a Senior Scientist at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
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(now Takeda Oncology), a biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Raman completed his undergraduate work at the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay, India. Dr. Raman received his Ph.D. in Organic and Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and was a post-doctoral fellow at The Scripps Research Institute.
We believe that Dr. Raman is qualified to serve on our board of directors based on his deep knowledge in the areas of business development and corporate strategy and extensive operational and leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry.
Mark A. Velleca, M.D., Ph.D.
has been our President and Chief Executive Officer since September 2023, and has served as our chair since December 2022 and a member of our board of directors since August 2021. Prior to joining our board of directors, from May 2014 to December 2020, Dr. Velleca served as President and Chief Executive Officer and from May 2014 to September 2023 as a director, of G1 Therapeutics, Inc., or G1 Therapeutics, a publicly-traded commercial stage oncology company. Prior to joining G1 Therapeutics, Dr. Velleca was a co-founder and served as Senior Vice President of CGI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or CGI, a biopharmaceutical company, from 1999 to 2010, where he managed the company from its inception through clinical trials of multiple drug candidates. After CGI was acquired by Gilead Sciences, Inc., or Gilead, a biotechnology company, in 2010, Dr. Velleca served as a Senior Advisor to Gilead in RD Strategy and Corporate Strategy from 2010 to April 2012, where he worked to help build its oncology pipeline. Dr. Velleca served as Executive Vice President at The Leukemia Lymphoma Society from April 2012 to April 2014. Dr. Velleca currently serves as a Senior Advisor to G1 Therapeutics and also serves as executive chair of the board of directors of Myeloid Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held clinical stage mRNA-immunotherapy company. Most recently, from February 2022 to February 2023, Dr. Velleca served as Chief Executive Officer of StrideBio, Inc., a privately held gene therapy company, and from April 2021 to February 2023, as a Venture Partner at Hatteras Venture Partners, a venture capital firm. Dr. Velleca began his career as an attending physician at Yale New Haven Hospital and was on the faculty of the Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Velleca received his B.S. from Yale University, and his M.D. and Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis.
We believe that Dr. Velleca is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his experience, qualifications, attributes and skills, including his extensive experience in leadership and operational roles in the pharmaceutical industry and his experience as a venture capitalist.
Vote Required and Board of Directors’ Recommendation
To be elected, the directors nominated via Proposal No. 1 must receive a plurality of the votes properly cast on the proposal, meaning that the two director nominees for Class I directors receiving the most votes will be elected. You may vote FOR all the nominees, FOR any one of the nominees, WITHHOLD your vote from all the nominees or WITHHOLD your vote from any one of the nominees. Votes that are withheld will not be included in the vote tally for the election of directors. If your shares are held in “street name” by a broker, bank or other nominee, your broker, bank or other nominee does not have authority to vote your unvoted shares held by the firm for the election of directors. As a result, any shares not voted by you will be treated as a broker non-vote. Such broker non-votes will have no effect on the results of this vote.
The proxies will be voted in favor of the above nominees unless a contrary specification is made in the proxy. The nominees have consented to serve as our directors if elected. However, if the nominees are unable to serve or for good cause will not serve as a director, the proxies will be voted for the election of such substitute nominee as our board of directors may designate.
The proposal for the election of directors relates solely to the election of Class I directors nominated by our board of directors.
The board of directors recommends voting “FOR” the election of Prakash Raman and Mark A. Velleca, as the Class I directors, to serve for a three-year term ending at the annual meeting of stockholders to be held in 2027.
9
Directors Continuing in Office
The following table identifies our continuing directors, and sets forth their principal occupation and business experience during the last five years and their ages as of March 31, 2024.
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Positions and Offices Held with the
Company | | |
Director
Since | | |
Class and Year in Which
Term Will Expire | | |
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| Ali Behbahani, M.D. | | | Director | | |
2018
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| Garry E. Menzel, Ph.D. | | | Director | | |
2017
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| Samarth Kulkarni, Ph.D. | | | Director | | |
2019
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| Shannon Campbell | | | Director | | |
2024
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Class III – 2026
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| Kapil Dhingra, M.B.B.S. | | | Director | | |
2021
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Class III – 2026
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Positions and Offices Held with the Company
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Officer
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Age
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| Brent Hatzis-Schoch, Esq. | | | Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel | | |
2019
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59
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| Elizabeth Buck, Ph.D. | | | Chief Scientific Officer | | |
2021
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49
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| Sergey Yurasov, M.D., Ph.D. | | | Chief Medical Officer | | |
2022
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55
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| Fang Ni, Pharm.D. | | | Chief Business Officer and Chief Financial Officer | | |
2021
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37
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| Elizabeth L. Montgomery | | | Chief People Officer | | |
2022
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52
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| Melanie Morrison | | | Chief Development Officer | | |
2023
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49
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| Erika Jones | | | Senior Vice President, Finance Corporate Controller | | |
2021
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39
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Ventures, Dr. Ni was Global Business Development Licensing director with F. Hoffman-La Roche AG, a global healthcare company, from February 2013 to November 2017, where he was responsible for leading transactions across the fields of oncology, immunology, and infectious and rare diseases. Dr. Ni earned a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Purdue University and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Rutgers University.
Elizabeth L. Montgomery
has served as our Chief People Officer since February 2022. Prior to joining us, from April 2017 to January 2022, Ms. Montgomery served as Chief People Officer at ClearView Healthcare Partners, a global strategic consulting firm focused in the life sciences, where her leadership and focus on talent management guided a near quadrupling in size of the employee base, international expansion, scaling of performance management, resource management and learning and development programs. Previously, from May 2006 to March 2017, Ms. Montgomery held several positions of increasing responsibility at IQVIA Consulting Services, a global healthcare and life sciences consulting firm, where she was the Global Director of Resource Management. Earlier, from January 2003 to April 2006, Ms. Montgomery was a senior manager at Boston Scientific Corporation, a publicly-traded manufacturer of medical devices, where she led reimbursement and outcomes planning for core Boston Scientific products. Ms. Montgomery holds an M.B.A. from the Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College and a B.S. in Business Administration from Boston University. She also holds a certificate from Cornell University’s Diversity and Inclusion/Strategic HR Leadership Program.
Melanie Morrison
has served as our Chief Development Officer since June 2023. Prior to joining us, from 2019 to 2022, Ms. Morrison served as Senior Vice President, Program Management and Clinical Operations at Nuvation Bio, where she built and oversaw multiple groups within the Development organization in support of Nuvation Bio’s pipeline. Previously, from 2018 to 2019, Ms. Morrison served as Vice President, Development Process Optimization at Aduro Biotech, and from 2017 to 2018, Ms. Morrison served as Vice President, Oncology Platform Leader at Immune Design. Previously, Ms. Morrison was Vice President, Clinical Operations at Medivation, Inc., until its acquisition by Pfizer, Inc., in September 2016. Ms. Morrison holds a M.S. in Health Sciences from The George Washington University of Medicine and Health Sciences and a B.S. from the University of California, Davis.
Erika Jones
has served as our Senior Vice President, Finance since February 2024 and as Corporate Controller since January 2021. Ms. Jones previously served as Vice President, Finance from October 2021 until her promotion in February 2024. Ms. Jones joined the Company in 2019 and served as Senior Director, Finance from October 2019 to January 2021. Prior to joining us, from May 2016 to October 2019, Ms. Jones served as Director of Finance at Axcella Health Inc., or Axcella, a publicly-traded clinical-stage biotechnology company, where she led the accounting and finance operations and reporting functions. Prior to Axcella, Ms. Jones was at Ernst Young LLP, a multinational accounting firm, from September 2008 to February 2015, most recently as Manager, Advisory Services. Ms. Jones received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Accounting from Miami University and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant.
The principal occupation and employment during the past five years of each of our executive officers was carried on, in each case except as specifically identified above, with a corporation or organization that is not a parent, subsidiary or other affiliate of us. There is no arrangement or understanding between any of our executive officers and any other person or persons pursuant to which he or she was or is to be selected as an executive officer.
There are no material legal proceedings to which any of our executive officers is a party adverse to us or our subsidiary or in which any such person has a material interest adverse to us or our subsidiary.
14
PROPOSAL NO. 2 — RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP AS BLACK DIAMOND THERAPEUTICS’ INDEPENDENT
REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2024
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP AS BLACK DIAMOND THERAPEUTICS’ INDEPENDENT
REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2024
The audit committee of our board of directors has appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, or PwC, as Black Diamond Therapeutics’ independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024. Black Diamond Therapeutics’ stockholders are being asked to ratify this appointment. PwC has served as Black Diamond Therapeutics’ independent registered public accounting firm since 2019.
The audit committee is solely responsible for selecting Black Diamond Therapeutics’ independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024. Stockholder approval is not required to appoint PwC as Black Diamond Therapeutics’ independent registered public accounting firm. However, the board of directors believes that submitting the appointment of PwC to the stockholders for ratification is good corporate governance. If the stockholders do not ratify this appointment, the audit committee will reconsider whether to retain PwC. If the selection of PwC is ratified, the audit committee, at its discretion, may direct the appointment of a different independent registered public accounting firm at any time it decides that such a change would be in the best interest of Black Diamond Therapeutics and its stockholders.
A representative of PwC is expected to virtually attend the Annual Meeting and will have an opportunity to make a statement if he or she desires to do so and to respond to appropriate questions from our stockholders.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm Fees
We incurred the following fees from PwC for the audit of the consolidated financial statements and for other services provided during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.
|
Fee Category
|
| |
Fiscal Year
2023 ($) | | |
Fiscal Year
2022 ($) | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Audit fees (1) | | | | $ | 729,000 | | | | | $ | 742,500 | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Audit-related fees (2) | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tax fees (3) | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All other fees (4) | | | | | 4,000 | | | | | | 3,000 | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Fees | | | | $ | 733,000 | | | | | $ | 745,500 | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Board Diversity Matrix (As of March 31, 2024)
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| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Board Size:
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|
Total Number of Directors
|
| |
8
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Female
|
| |
Male
|
| |
Non-
Binary | | |
Did Not
Disclose Gender
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Part I : Gender Identity | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Directors | | | | | 1 | | | | | | 7 | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Part II : Demographic Background | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| African American or Black | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alaskan Native or Native American | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Asian | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hispanic or Latinx | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| White | | | | | 1 | | | | | | 4 | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Two or More Races or Ethnicities | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LGBTQ+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Did Not Disclose Demographic Background | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |
Audit Committee
|
| |
Compensation Committee
|
| |
Nominating and Corporate
Governance Committee | | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |
Garry E. Menzel, Ph.D.*
|
| |
Ali Behbahani, M.D.*
|
| |
Kapil Dhingra, M.B.B.S.*
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |
Ali Behbahani, M.D.
|
| |
Garry E. Menzel, Ph.D.
|
| |
Prakash Raman, Ph.D.
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |
Prakash Raman, Ph.D.
|
| |
Shannon Campbell
|
| |
Samarth Kulkarni, Ph.D.
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Name
(1)
|
| |
Fees Earned
or Paid in Cash ($) (2)
|
|
|
Option
Awards ($) (3)
|
|
|
All Other
Compensation ($)
|
|
|
Total ($)
|
Ali Behbahani, M.D.
|
|
|
|
|
47,788
|
|
|
|
|
|
20,348
|
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
68,136
|
|
|
Kapil Dhingra, M.B.B.S.
|
|
|
|
|
39,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
20,348
|
|
|
|
|
|
50,000
(4)
|
|
|
|
|
|
109,348
|
|
|
Samarth Kulkarni, Ph.D.
|
|
|
|
|
39,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
20,348
|
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
59,348
|
|
|
Garry E. Menzel, Ph.D.
|
|
|
|
|
55,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
20,348
|
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
75,348
|
|
|
Rajeev Shah
(5)
|
|
|
|
|
42,500
|
|
|
|
|
|
20,348
|
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
62,848
|
|
|
Alexander Mayweg, Ph.D.
(6)
|
|
|
|
|
35,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
20,348
|
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
55,348
|
|
|
Wendy L. Dixon, Ph.D.
(7)
|
|
|
|
|
43,288
|
|
|
|
|
|
20,348
|
|
|
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
63,636
|
|
|
(1)
As of December 31, 2023, Dr. Behbahani held outstanding options for 46,500 shares of our common stock, Dr. Dhingra held outstanding options for 135,695 shares of our common stock, Dr. Dixon held outstanding options for 61,500 shares of our common stock, Dr. Kulkarni held outstanding options for 114,474 shares of our common stock, Dr. Mayweg held outstanding options for 46,500 shares of our common stock, Dr. Menzel held outstanding options for 100,282 shares of our common stock, and Mr. Shah held outstanding options for 46,500 shares of our common stock.
(2)
Amounts represent cash compensation for services rendered by each member of the board of directors. Dr. Behbahani and Dr. Dixon elected to receive their cash compensation in the form of unrestricted shares. Additionally, the cash compensation earned by Dr. Mayweg was paid to Versant Ventures at his direction, and the cash compensation earned by Mr. Shah was paid to RA Capital Management, L.P. per Mr. Shah’s direction.
(3)
Amounts shown reflect the grant date fair value of stock option awards granted during fiscal year 2023. The grant date fair value was computed in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 718, or ASC Topic 718, Compensation — Stock Compensation, disregarding the effect of estimated forfeitures related to service-based vesting. These amounts reflect the accounting cost for stock options and do not correspond to the actual economic value that may be received by the director upon exercise of the stock options. See Note 8 to the financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 regarding certain assumptions we made in determining the fair value of option awards.
28
(4)
The amount reported represents the amount earned by Dr. Dhingra in connection with certain consulting services provided by Dr. Dhingra to the Company.
(5)
Mr. Shah resigned from our board of directors in January 2024.
(6)
Dr. Mayweg resigned from our board of directors in April 2024.
(7)
Dr. Dixon resigned from our board of directors in April 2024.
Non-Employee Director Compensation Program
Our non-employee directors are compensated pursuant to a formal policy, which we most recently amended and restated in March 2024, pursuant to which we pay our non-employee directors a cash retainer for service on the board of directors and for service on each committee on which the director is a member. The chair of each committee receives a higher retainer for such service. The fees paid to non-employee directors for service on the board of directors and for service on each committee of the board of directors on which the director is a member are as follows:
Non-employee directors are given the opportunity to elect to receive all or a portion of their cash retainer and committee fees in the form of an equity award of unrestricted shares having a grant date fair value equal to the amount (or portion of the amount) of such retainer and committee fees. We also reimburse our non-employee directors for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by our non-employee directors in connection with attending our meetings of the board of directors and committees thereof.
In addition, each new non-employee director elected to our board of directors will be granted an option to purchase 61,100 shares of our common stock on the date of such director’s election or appointment to the board of directors, which will vest ratably in thirty-six (36) equal monthly installments following the grant date, subject to the director’s continued service on our board of directors through such vesting date. On the date of each annual meeting of stockholders of our Company, each continuing non-employee director will be granted an option to purchase 30,550 shares of our common stock, which will vest in full upon the earlier to occur of the first anniversary of the date of grant or the date of the next annual meeting, subject to the director’s continued service on our board of directors through such vesting date.
The value of all equity awards and all other cash compensation paid by the Company to any non-employee director in any calendar year may not exceed: (i) $1,000,000 in the first calendar year an individual becomes a non-employee director; and (ii) $750,000 in any other calendar year. For the purpose of this limitation, the value of any equity award is its grant date fair value.
This program is intended to provide a total compensation package that enables us to attract and retain qualified and experienced individuals to serve as directors and to align our directors’ interests with those of our stockholders.
Employee directors will receive no additional compensation for their service as a director.
29
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
As an “emerging growth company,” we have opted to comply with the executive compensation disclosure rules applicable to “smaller reporting companies,” as such term is defined in the rules promulgated under the Securities Act. This section provides an overview of the compensation awarded to, earned by, or paid to each individual who served as our principal executive officer during our fiscal year 2023, and our next two most highly compensated executive officers in respect of their service to our Company for fiscal year 2023. We refer to these individuals as our named executive officers. Our named executive officers for fiscal year 2023 are:
•
Mark A. Velleca, M.D., Ph.D., our President and Chief Executive Officer;
•
David M. Epstein, Ph.D., our former President and Chief Executive Officer;
•
Fang Ni, Pharm. D., our Chief Business Officer and Chief Financial Officer; and
•
Sergey Yurasov, M.D., Ph.D., our Chief Medical Officer.
Our executive compensation program is based on a pay for performance philosophy. Compensation for Drs. Velleca, Yurasov, Ni and Epstein is composed primarily of the following main components: base salary, bonus, and equity incentives in the form of stock options. Like all full-time employees, our executive officers are eligible to participate in our health and welfare benefit plans. We will continue to evaluate our compensation philosophy and compensation plans and arrangements as circumstances require.
2023 Summary Compensation Table
The following table presents the compensation awarded to, earned by or paid to each of our named executive officers for the years indicated.
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