Post by imz72 on Sept 18, 2018 11:25:31 GMT
BioTime Implements New Leadership Structure; Appoints Brian Culley as Chief Executive Officer
September 18, 2018 ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)
Former Co-CEO Adi Mohanty to Aid in Transition and Continue to Serve on the Boards of Asterias and OncoCyte
Former Co-CEO Michael West to Focus on AgeX CEO Responsibilities
BioTime, Inc. (NYSE American: BTX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on degenerative diseases, today announced that the Board of Directors has implemented a new leadership structure under which Brian Culley has been appointed as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and as a member of its Board of Directors, effective September 17, 2018. Mr. Culley succeeds Co-CEOs Adi Mohanty and Dr. Michael West.
“We are excited to be able to benefit from Brian’s experience and simultaneously transition to a single CEO as we further position the company for success,” said Alfred Kingsley, BioTime’s Chairman of the Board. “The Board of Directors and management team offer our deepest appreciation to both Adi and Mike for the extensive contributions they made to the growth and development of the Company,” Mr. Kingsley added.
Mr. Culley is an experienced public biopharmaceutical company CEO, having served in that capacity for seven years at Mast Therapeutics, which merged in 2017 with Savara, Inc. (SVRA). His broad experience includes the clinical development of pharmaceutical products from research through Phase 3, corporate partnering, institutional capital raising, and numerous other activities. Mr. Culley’s earlier positions include leadership roles in business development and technology transfer and as an early discovery researcher for Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX). Mr. Culley received a B.S. in biology from Boston College, a Masters in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of California Santa Barbara, and an M.B.A. from The Johnson School at Cornell University.
Mr. Mohanty stated, “since I joined BioTime, we have advanced our platform science to develop product candidates in mid- and late-stage clinical trials and unlocked value from strategic transactions such as our recently-announced $43 million sale of AgeX Therapeutics shares to Juvenescence. The execution of our strategy has created a leaner and better-capitalized company, poised to build substantial value for our shareholders through further focus on clinical progress. This is an excellent time to evolve our leadership structure, which we have done by recruiting an industry veteran with significant experience leading clinical-stage companies. This change will also allow me the opportunity to pursue career opportunities closer to my family in Southern California. I look forward to working with Brian and the Board during our transition period.”
Dr. West will now be the full-time CEO of AgeX. AgeX and BioTime will continue their close connection through the structure of their licenses and contracts. Dr. West added, “the pluripotent stem cell platform allows, for the first time in the history of medicine, the potential to manufacture all of the cellular building blocks of the human body on an industrial scale. AgeX will take the lead in developing new applications targeting human aging, including use in age-related metabolic disorders, vascular aging, and the emerging field of induced tissue regeneration.”
Mr. Culley concluded, “I am excited for the opportunity to build upon the strong foundation created by Mike, Adi, and the rest of the BioTime team. As the Company expands the scope of its product candidates, I look forward to contributing my experience running large clinical trials, collaborating with patient and advocacy groups, and creating value through business development initiatives and shareholder awareness campaigns. I aspire for BioTime to lead the way in the translation of cellular therapies into approved treatments for a wide range of serious diseases and conditions.”
Required disclosure regarding incentive stock options
BioTime has entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Culley. As part of his employment agreement, he will receive non-qualified stock options. On September 17, 2018 (the “Grant Date”), the Board granted Mr. Culley a non-qualified stock option to purchase 1,500,000 of the Company’s common shares with an exercise price equal to $2.31 per share (the closing price per share of the Company's common stock as reported on the NYSE on the Grant Date) as a material inducement to his hiring as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company (the “Option”).
This grant was made outside of the terms of the Company’s 2012 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, and was approved by the independent members of the Board in reliance on the employment inducement exemption to shareholder approval provided under the New York Stock Exchange's Listed Company Manual Rule 303A.08, which requires public announcement of inducement awards. Subject to Mr. Culley’s continued service with the Company, 25% of the shares under the Option will vest and become exercisable on the 12 month anniversary of the start date, and the balance of the shares under the option will vest and become exercisable in 36 equal monthly installments at the end of each one-month period thereafter.
www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180918005316/en/
September 18, 2018 ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)
Former Co-CEO Adi Mohanty to Aid in Transition and Continue to Serve on the Boards of Asterias and OncoCyte
Former Co-CEO Michael West to Focus on AgeX CEO Responsibilities
BioTime, Inc. (NYSE American: BTX), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on degenerative diseases, today announced that the Board of Directors has implemented a new leadership structure under which Brian Culley has been appointed as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and as a member of its Board of Directors, effective September 17, 2018. Mr. Culley succeeds Co-CEOs Adi Mohanty and Dr. Michael West.
“We are excited to be able to benefit from Brian’s experience and simultaneously transition to a single CEO as we further position the company for success,” said Alfred Kingsley, BioTime’s Chairman of the Board. “The Board of Directors and management team offer our deepest appreciation to both Adi and Mike for the extensive contributions they made to the growth and development of the Company,” Mr. Kingsley added.
Mr. Culley is an experienced public biopharmaceutical company CEO, having served in that capacity for seven years at Mast Therapeutics, which merged in 2017 with Savara, Inc. (SVRA). His broad experience includes the clinical development of pharmaceutical products from research through Phase 3, corporate partnering, institutional capital raising, and numerous other activities. Mr. Culley’s earlier positions include leadership roles in business development and technology transfer and as an early discovery researcher for Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX). Mr. Culley received a B.S. in biology from Boston College, a Masters in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of California Santa Barbara, and an M.B.A. from The Johnson School at Cornell University.
Mr. Mohanty stated, “since I joined BioTime, we have advanced our platform science to develop product candidates in mid- and late-stage clinical trials and unlocked value from strategic transactions such as our recently-announced $43 million sale of AgeX Therapeutics shares to Juvenescence. The execution of our strategy has created a leaner and better-capitalized company, poised to build substantial value for our shareholders through further focus on clinical progress. This is an excellent time to evolve our leadership structure, which we have done by recruiting an industry veteran with significant experience leading clinical-stage companies. This change will also allow me the opportunity to pursue career opportunities closer to my family in Southern California. I look forward to working with Brian and the Board during our transition period.”
Dr. West will now be the full-time CEO of AgeX. AgeX and BioTime will continue their close connection through the structure of their licenses and contracts. Dr. West added, “the pluripotent stem cell platform allows, for the first time in the history of medicine, the potential to manufacture all of the cellular building blocks of the human body on an industrial scale. AgeX will take the lead in developing new applications targeting human aging, including use in age-related metabolic disorders, vascular aging, and the emerging field of induced tissue regeneration.”
Mr. Culley concluded, “I am excited for the opportunity to build upon the strong foundation created by Mike, Adi, and the rest of the BioTime team. As the Company expands the scope of its product candidates, I look forward to contributing my experience running large clinical trials, collaborating with patient and advocacy groups, and creating value through business development initiatives and shareholder awareness campaigns. I aspire for BioTime to lead the way in the translation of cellular therapies into approved treatments for a wide range of serious diseases and conditions.”
Required disclosure regarding incentive stock options
BioTime has entered into an employment agreement with Mr. Culley. As part of his employment agreement, he will receive non-qualified stock options. On September 17, 2018 (the “Grant Date”), the Board granted Mr. Culley a non-qualified stock option to purchase 1,500,000 of the Company’s common shares with an exercise price equal to $2.31 per share (the closing price per share of the Company's common stock as reported on the NYSE on the Grant Date) as a material inducement to his hiring as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company (the “Option”).
This grant was made outside of the terms of the Company’s 2012 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, and was approved by the independent members of the Board in reliance on the employment inducement exemption to shareholder approval provided under the New York Stock Exchange's Listed Company Manual Rule 303A.08, which requires public announcement of inducement awards. Subject to Mr. Culley’s continued service with the Company, 25% of the shares under the Option will vest and become exercisable on the 12 month anniversary of the start date, and the balance of the shares under the option will vest and become exercisable in 36 equal monthly installments at the end of each one-month period thereafter.
www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180918005316/en/