Aduro Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADRO) Files An 8-K Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers
Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
(b) On March 19, 2020, Andrea van Elsas, Ph.D., the chief scientific officer of Aduro Biotech, Inc. (the “Company”), notified the Company of his intent to resign effective as of June 30, 2020 (the “Termination Date”) in connection with the Company’s previously announced corporate restructuring, which includes closure of the Aduro Biotech Europe headquarters in Oss, the Netherlands, where Dr. van Elsas is based. Dr. van Elsas will receive severance benefits in connection with his termination to the Aduro Biotech, Inc. Amended and Restated Severance Plan (the “Severance Plan”), as described in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed December 15, 2016, a copy of which was attached as Exhibit 10.1 to such Current Report and incorporated therein by reference. It is expected that Dr. van Elsas will continue to serve as chief scientific officer through the Termination Date to assist with the transition of his responsibilities. In addition, it is expected that Dr. van Elsas will continue to advise the Company as a consultant following the Termination Date. The Company and Dr. van Elsas are working on the terms of a consulting arrangement.
Special Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This current report on Form 8-K (“Current Report”) contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding the Company’s intentions or current expectations concerning, among other things, Dr. van Elsas’s service through the Termination Date and the transition of his responsibilities and Dr. van Elsas continuing to advise the Company as a consultant following the Termination Date. In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as “may,” “will,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “project,” “expect” or the negative or plural of these words or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those anticipated, including, but not limited to, the effects of COVID-19 on the Company’s clinical programs, early or preliminary clinical trial results may not be predictive of future results, the Company’s history of net operating losses and uncertainty regarding its ability to achieve profitability, the Company’s ability to develop and commercialize its product candidates, the Company’s ability to use and expand its technologies to build a pipeline of product candidates, the Company’s ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of its product candidates, the Company’s ability to operate in a competitive industry and compete successfully against competitors that have greater resources than the Company does, the success of the Company’s restructuring, the Company’s reliance on third parties, and the Company’s ability to obtain and adequately protect intellectual property rights for its product candidates. Many of these risks are discussed in greater detail under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements that we make in this Current Report speak only as of the date of this Current Report. The Company assumes no obligation to update its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this Current Report.
About Aduro Biotech, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADRO)
Aduro Biotech, Inc. is a clinical-stage immunotherapy company. The Company is focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies that transform the treatment of various diseases. The Company has developed approximately three technology platforms, which include Live, Attenuated, Double-Deleted (LADD), Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING) Pathway Activator and B-select monoclonal antibodies. Its LADD product candidates include CRS-207, ADU-623, ADU-741 and ADU-214. Its STING Activator product candidates include ADU-S100. Its LADD technology platform is engineered to express tumor-associated antigens to induce specific and targeted immune responses. Its STING Pathway Activator platform is designed to activate the intracellular STING receptor, resulting in a tumor-specific immune response. Its B-select monoclonal antibody platform includes various immune modulating assets in research and preclinical development.
