Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLCM) Files An 8-K Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement
Item1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.
Separation and Consulting Agreement
Effective May10, 2017, Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the
Company) entered into a separation and consulting agreement with
Annemarie Moseley, Ph.D., M.D. (the Moseley Agreement). to the
terms of the Moseley Agreement, Dr.Moseley will resign from her
position as the Companys Chief Operating Officer and Executive
Vice President of Clinical Development, effective July31, 2017
(the Separation Date). Following the Separation Date, Dr.Moseley
will receive the following benefits, subject to certain terms and
conditions: (i)continued payment of her base salary for 12 months
following the Separation Date, through July31, 2018 (the
Severance Period); (ii) a lump sum amount equal to her pro-rated
target performance bonus for 2017; and (iii)payment of COBRA
premiums during the Severance Period (subject to earlier
termination). In addition, Dr.Moseley agreed to serve as a
consultant to the Company commencing on the Separation Date
through January31, 2019 (the Consulting Period). During the
Consulting Period, Dr.Moseley is expected to provide consulting
services for up to 10 hours per month, or more if needed, at a
rate of $425 per hour. As additional compensation, the Company
agreed to extend the Severance Period for purposes of continued
base salary and COBRA payments for an additional six months,
through January31, 2019.
Amended and Restated Employment Agreement
Effective May10, 2017, the Company entered into an Amended and
Restated Employment Agreement (the Smith Agreement) with Alan J.
Smith, Ph.D., in connection with his promotion to Executive Vice
President, Technical Operations. Dr.Smith previously was the
Companys Senior Vice President of Manufacturing. The Smith
Agreement provides that Dr.Smith will receive an annual base
salary of $370,000, less payroll deductions and withholdings, and
will be eligible to receive an annual performance bonus with a
target amount equal to 40% of his annual base salary. In
connection with his promotion, Dr.Smith was granted an option to
purchase 20,000 shares of the Companys Common Stock, which will
vest over a four-year period with 25% vesting on the one-year
anniversary of the grant date and the remainder vesting monthly
thereafter in equal increments for 36 months. Dr.Smith also is
entitled to monthly reimbursement of up to $4,000 for reasonable
travel costs from Virginia to Texas and reasonable accommodations
in Houston. Dr.Smiths employment with the Company is at will and
may be terminated at any time. Under the Smith Agreement Dr.Smith
is entitled to severance benefits upon a termination of
employment without cause or a resignation for good reason (each
such term as defined in the Smith Agreement), including continued
payment of base salary for 12 months, payment of COBRA premiums
for 12 months and a pro-rated annual performance bonus.
The foregoing descriptions of the Moseley Agreement and the Smith
Agreement are not complete and are qualified in their entirety by
reference to the full text of each such agreement, copies of
which will be filed as exhibits to the Companys Quarterly Report
on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June30, 2017.
On May15, 2017, the Company issued a press release announcing,
among other things, the entry into the Moseley Agreement and the
Smith Agreement. A copy of the press release is attached hereto
as Exhibit 99.1.
Item5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers;
Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers;
Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
The disclosure set forth in Item 1.01 above is incorporated
herein for this Item 5.02.
Item9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits
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Exhibit No. |
Description |
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| 99.1 | Press Release dated May15, 2017. |
About Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLCM)
Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. The Company is focused on discovering and developing cellular immunotherapies for various forms of cancer, including hematological cancers and solid tumors, as well as orphan inherited blood disorders. The Company uses its chemical induction of dimerization (CID) technology platform to engineer and then control components of the immune system. The Company is developing next-generation product candidates in the areas of cellular immunotherapy, including hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) T cells therapy and T-cell receptor (TCR) cell therapies. The Company’s product candidates include BPX-501, BPX-401, BPX-601 and BPX-701. BPX-501 is an adjunct T cell therapy for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The Company’s CID-based technologies include CaspaCIDe, CIDeCAR and GoCAR-T. Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLCM) Recent Trading Information
Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLCM) closed its last trading session up +0.28 at 12.96 with 361,054 shares trading hands.