Scott Burrows,
former Arcutis Biotherapeutics CFO, assumes role as Chief Financial
Officer
Heidy Abreu
King-Jones, former Provention Bio CLO & Corporate
Secretary, assumes role as Chief Legal Officer & Corporate
Secretary
Appointments strengthen Aeglea's leadership
team and provides robust financial and corporate stewardship as the
company advances a potentially best-in-class inflammatory bowel
disease (IBD) portfolio, including parallel lead α4b7 and TL1A
programs
WALTHAM,
Mass., Sept. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Aeglea
BioTherapeutics, Inc. ("Aeglea") (Nasdaq: AGLE), a biotechnology
company advancing a pipeline of antibody therapeutics with the
potential to transform the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease
("IBD"), today announced the appointment of Scott Burrows, as Chief Financial Officer and
Heidy Abreu King-Jones as Chief
Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary. Both will report to
Cameron Turtle, Chief Operating
Officer of Aeglea, and join the Company's leadership team. Aeglea
also announced that Jonathan
Alspaugh, Aeglea's current President and Chief Financial
Officer, is expected to transition into a strategic advisory
consulting role through December 31,
2023.
"Scott and Heidy both bring extraordinary expertise and
leadership skills through their proven track records at public
biopharma companies with both investigational and commercialized
products," said Cameron Turtle,
DPhil. "As the company further aligns the organization with its
overall strategy of creating a portfolio of potentially
best-in-class therapies for patients with IBD, these leadership
appointments help ensure we best serve our patients, partners, and
investors. On behalf of the management team and Board of Directors,
I would also like to thank Jonathan for his steadfast commitment to
the company."
Mr. Burrows is a veteran of the biopharma industry with more
than two decades of diverse experience and a proven track-record in
biopharmaceutical finance leadership roles spanning multiple public
companies. He most recently served as the Chief Financial Officer
of Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. ("Arcutis") (Nasdaq: ARQT) where
he helped lead Arcutis through a successful initial public
offering, several further equity and debt financings, and the
transition to a fully integrated commercial-stage company. Prior to
Arcutis, Mr. Burrows was the head of international investor
relations for Shire, plc based in Switzerland. Earlier in his career, he spent
15 years at Amgen, Inc. in roles of increasing responsibility
across financial planning and analysis, treasury, and investor
relations. Mr. Burrows began his career at Arthur Andersen as a
consultant after earning his BA and MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles, and is a
licensed CPA (inactive).
Ms. King-Jones most recently served as the Chief Legal Officer
and Corporate Secretary at Provention Bio, Inc. through various
financings, the approval of Tzield®, the company's
successful transition from clinical-stage to commercial-stage as
well as its acquisition by Sanofi in April
2023. Prior to her leadership role at Provention Bio, she
was a Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate
Secretary at Axcella Health Inc. where she was responsible for
Axcella's corporate legal function and strategy. From 2013 to 2018,
she held positions of increasing responsibility in the legal
department at Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc., including overseeing all
Corporate Law matters as Senior Director, Corporate Law.
While at Sarepta, she served as a member of the company's
commercial readiness working group and was responsible for the
development of the compliance program, contract and other legal
work for the launch of its first product, Exondys 51®.
Ms. King-Jones began her legal career in the Securities &
Public Companies Practice Group at Ropes & Gray LLP, where she
represented private and publicly traded companies in the
pharmaceutical, utility and technology industries. She holds
a J.D. and LL.M. in International and Comparative Law from
Cornell Law School, and a B.A. from
Dartmouth College.
In connection with the appointment of Mr. Burrows as Chief
Financial Officer and Ms. King-Jones as Chief Legal Officer and
Corporate Secretary and the hiring of three non-executive
employees, a majority of the independent members of Aeglea's Board
of Directors approved the following grants: (i) a grant of stock
options to purchase 10,121,441 shares of common stock of Aeglea
(the "Common Stock") to Mr. Burrows, (ii) a grant of 3,373,814
restricted stock units (the "Executive Inducement RSUs") to Mr.
Burrows, (iii) a grant of stock options to purchase 13,495,255
shares of Common Stock to Ms. King-Jones and (iv) grants of stock
options to purchase an aggregate of 2,500,000 shares of Common
Stock to the non-executive employees, in each case, as equity
inducement awards under the Aeglea BioTherapeutics, Inc. 2018
Equity Inducement Plan. The inducement awards were approved on
August 30, 2023 and were material to
each employee's acceptance of employment with Aeglea, in accordance
with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The option grants have an
exercise price equal to the closing price on September 1, 2023 (the
"Grant Date"), expire on the tenth anniversary of the Grant Date
and vest as to 25% on the first anniversary of the employee's start
date and in 36 equal monthly installments thereafter, in each case,
subject to continuous service with Aeglea through the applicable
vesting dates. The Executive Inducement RSUs vest in equal annual
installments on the first four anniversaries of the employee's
start date, in each case, subject to continuous service with Aeglea
through the applicable vesting dates.
About Aeglea BioTherapeutics
In June 2023, Aeglea completed the asset acquisition
of Spyre Therapeutics, Inc. and shifted its disease focus to IBD.
Aeglea is advancing a pipeline of antibody therapeutics with the
potential to transform the treatment of IBD. The approaches combine
novel antibody engineering, rational therapeutic combinations, and
precision immunology approaches to maximize efficacy, safety, and
convenience of treatments for IBD. The company's portfolio includes
potentially best-in-class antibodies targeting α4b7, TL1A, and
IL-23.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this
press release, other than purely historical information, may
constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the
federal securities laws, including for purposes of the safe harbor
provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, concerning Aeglea and other matters. These
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, express
or implied statements relating to Aeglea's management team's
expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding
the future including, without limitation, Aeglea's business plans
and the anticipated benefits of the management changes. In
addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or
other characterizations of future events or circumstances,
including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking
statements. The words "opportunity," "potential," "milestones,"
"pipeline," "can," "goal," "aim," "strategy," "target," "seek,"
"anticipate," "achieve," "believe," "contemplate," "continue,"
"could," "estimate," "expect," "intends," "may," "might," "plan,"
"possible," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would" and
similar expressions (including the negatives of these terms or
variations of them) may identify forward-looking statements, but
the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not
forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are based on
current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and
their potential effects. There can be no assurance that future
developments affecting Aeglea will be those that have been
anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of
risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond Aeglea's control) or
other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to
be materially different from those expressed or implied by these
forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include,
but are not limited those uncertainties and factors described under
the heading "Risk Factors" and "Note about Forward-Looking
Statements" in Aeglea's most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
filed with the SEC, as well as discussions of potential risks,
uncertainties, and other important factors included in other
filings by Aeglea from time to time. Should one or more of these
risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of Aeglea's
assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material
respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements.
Nothing in this press release should be regarded as a
representation by any person that the forward-looking statements
set forth herein will be achieved or that any of the contemplated
results of such forward-looking statements will be achieved. You
should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements in
this press release, which speak only as of the date they are made
and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the cautionary
statements herein. Aeglea does not undertake or accept any duty to
release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking
statements. This press release does not purport to summarize all of
the conditions, risks and other attributes of an investment in
Aeglea.
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SOURCE Aeglea BioTherapeutics, Inc.