ABEONA THERAPEUTICS INC. (NASDAQ:ABEO) Files An 8-K Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain OfficersItem 5.02.Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
Effective March 29, 2018, Frank Carsten Thiel, Ph.D., age 55, has been named by the Board of Directors of Abeona Therapeutics Inc. (the “Company”) as the Company's Chief Executive Officer.
Dr. Thiel brings 25 years of proven global biopharmaceutical industry experience, including rare and orphan diseases, to Abeona. His most recent position at Alexion, he served as its Senior Vice President, Europe/Middle East/Africa and Asia Pacific where he was responsible for driving Alexion’s global commercial operations in these regions, including maximizing the current rare disease portfolio as well as guiding the launch of anticipated new products and indications. Prior to joining Alexion, Dr. Thiel served as Vice President, Head of Europe at Amgen. In this role, he led regional operations and was responsible for multiple products in hematology/oncology, nephrology, and bone disorders, and prepared for new product launches in inflammation and cardiology. He also held various other senior leadership positions at Amgen, including General Manager, Germany, and General Manager, CEE, where he led all markets in Eastern Europe and established Amgen’s operations in Russia. He also served as Head of the Oncology franchise in Europe during the time of several blockbuster product launches. Prior to Amgen, Dr. Thiel held several sales and marketing leadership roles across Europe at Roche. He earned his doctorate in molecular biology & biochemistry at Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Goettingen, Germany.
There are no arrangements or understandings between Dr. Thiel and any other person to which he was selected as an officer of the Company. There are no family relationships between Dr. Thiel and any of the Company’s directors or executive officers and there are no transactions between Dr. Thiel and the Company that would be required to be reported under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K promulgated under the Securities Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).
In connection with Dr. Thiel’s appointment, Dr. Thiel will receive a base salary of $550,000 and a target annual bonus opportunity equal to 50% of his base salary (with a maximum bonus opportunity of not less than 200% of the target annual bonus opportunity). The amount of the annual bonus actually paid will depend on the extent to which the performance goals are achieved or exceeded as determined by the Company’s Board of Directors. Dr. Thiel will be granted stock options to purchase 350,000 shares of the Company’s common stock with an exercise price of $13.65 per share. Dr. Thiel’s options will vest over a forty-eight (48) month period with twenty-five percent (25%) vesting on March 29, 2019 and the remaining seventy-five percent (75%) vesting in equal monthly installments thereafter over the remaining thirty-six (36) months. Dr. Thiel is entitled to similar benefits as the Company’s other executive officers. Under certain circumstances relating to a termination or change of control of the Company, Dr. Thiel may be entitled to receive additional payments and acceleration of his option vesting.
Item 7.01.Other Events
On April 2, 2018, the Company issued a press release announcing Dr. Thiel’s appointment as well as the appointment of Tim Miller, Ph.D. as Chief Scientific Officer of the Company. The full text of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K. The information contained in this Item is being furnished and shall not be deemed “filed” for any other purpose, and shall not be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act regardless of any general incorporation language in any such filing.
Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits
ABEONA THERAPEUTICS INC. ExhibitEX-99.1 2 tv490170_ex99-1.htm EXHIBIT 99.1 Exhibit 99.1 Abeona Therapeutics Appoints Carsten Thiel,…To view the full exhibit click here
About ABEONA THERAPEUTICS INC. (NASDAQ:ABEO)
Abeona Therapeutics, Inc. (Abeona), formerly PlasmaTech Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., is focused on developing and delivering gene therapy and plasma-based products for rare diseases. The Company’s lead programs are ABO-101 (AA9 NAGLU) and ABO-102 (scAAV9 SGHG), adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapies for Sanfilippo syndrome (Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) IIIA and IIIB) in collaboration with patient advocate groups, researchers and clinicians. The Company is also developing ABO-201 (scAAV9 CLN3) gene therapy for juvenile Batten disease (JBD), and ABO-301 (AAV LK19 FANCC) for Fanconi anemia (FA) disorder using a clustered, regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9-based gene editing approach to gene therapy program for rare blood diseases. It is developing rare plasma protein therapies, including PTB-101 SDF Alpha (alpha-1 protease inhibitor) for inherited chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Its product pipeline also consists of MuGard and ProdiGard.
