Item 5.02. |
Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. |
Departure of Jeremy Gowler as Interim Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Commercial Officer
Jeremy Gowler, the Interim Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Commercial Officer of Invivyd, Inc. (the “Company”), ceased serving as an executive officer and as the Company’s “principal executive officer,” effective as of May 30, 2024, with his employment terminating on June 29, 2024. The Board of Directors of the Company is continuing its search for a permanent Chief Executive Officer.
Upon Mr. Gowler executing a separation agreement, and subject to Mr. Gowler agreeing to a release of claims and complying with certain other continuing obligations contained therein, the Company will pay Mr. Gowler the amounts owed to him pursuant to Section 5 of that certain Employment Agreement, dated September 17, 2022, by and between the Company and Mr. Gowler, which was filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on December 6, 2022, as amended by that certain First Amendment, dated April 11, 2024, which was filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 12, 2024.
Appointment of William Duke, Jr. as Principal Executive Officer
Effective May 30, 2024, William Duke, Jr., the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, will serve as the Company’s “principal executive officer”. Mr. Duke will continue to serve as “principal financial officer” and “principal accounting officer” of the Company.
Mr. Duke, 51, has served as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer since September 2023. He brings more than 25 years of finance, accounting, and operations experience, including over a decade of senior leadership experience in the biotechnology industry. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Duke served as the Chief Financial Officer of Apexigen, Inc. from June 2022 to August 2023 where he was responsible for all areas of finance and accounting and helped guide the company through its sale to Pyxis Oncology, Inc. Before Apexigen, Mr. Duke was Chief Financial Officer of Kaleido Biosciences, Inc. from November 2019 to April 2022, where he led the successful completion of multiple financings. Prior to Kaleido Biosciences, he was Chief Financial Officer of Pulmatrix, Inc. from June 2015 to November 2019, where he helped negotiate the company’s first product partnership and led the successful completion of several public offerings. Prior to that, he held senior financial leadership roles at Valeritas, Inc. and Genzyme Corporation, where he helped in the sale of the company to Sanofi. Mr. Duke is a certified public accountant and holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Stonehill College and an M.B.A. from Bentley College.
There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Duke and any other persons pursuant to which Mr. Duke was designated as the “principal executive officer” of the Company. There are also no family relationships between Mr. Duke and any director or executive officer of the Company and Mr. Duke has no direct or indirect interest in any transaction or proposed transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
On May 31, 2024, the Company issued a press release announcing changes to its management team, including the appointment of Timothy Lee as the Chief Commercial Officer of the Company. A copy of the press release is being filed as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated by reference in this Item 8.01.
On May 31, 2024, the Company issued a press release announcing general alignment with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on an expedient, repeatable immunobridging pathway to future potential emergency use authorizations for serial, novel monoclonal antibodies for the prevention and treatment of symptomatic COVID-19. A copy of the press release is being filed as Exhibit 99.2 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated by reference in this Item 8.01.