Item 5.02Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
On May 5, 2023, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Aprea Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) increased the size of the Board from eight to nine directors and appointed Gabriela Gruia, M.D., as a Class II director and new member of the Board to fill the vacancy on the Board, effective immediately, to serve until the Company’s 2024 annual meeting of stockholders or until her earlier resignation or removal. Dr. Gruia will not serve on any of the Board’s committees.
Dr. Gruia, age 66, is an oncologist with over 25 years of experience in oncology drug development, spanning cell and gene therapy, bi-specifics, biologics, immunotherapy, and small molecules and currently serves as the Founder and Principal of Gabriela Gruia Consulting, LLC. From February 2020 to January 2021, Dr. Gruia served as Chief Development Officer at Ichnos Sciences, where she oversaw development activities for several key functions, including Clinical Development and Clinical Operations, Regulatory Sciences, Clinical Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Biostatistics. From August 2004 to February 2020, Dr. Gruia was Senior Vice President and Global Head of Regulatory Affairs for Novartis Oncology, where she led the world class oncology regulatory affairs organization and oversaw all regulatory activities in close partnership with research collaborators, preclinical development, development organization and senior management. While at Novartis, Dr. Gruia spearheaded the worldwide submission and approval of multiple new molecular entities, including Tasigna®, Jakavi®, Afinitor®, Signifor®, Zykadia®, Farydak®, Rydapt®, Odomzo®, Kisqali®, Kymriah®, Adakveo®, and Piqray®. Dr. Gruia serves as a member of the board of directors of TSCAN Therapeutics, Tessa Therapeutics Ltd., and Molecular Templates, Inc. Dr. Gruia earned a doctorate in medicine from Bucharest Medical School in Romania and a Masters in Breast Pathology and Mammography from the Rene Huguenin/Curie Institute Cancer Center in Paris, France. She completed training in oncology and hematology at Rene Descartes University in Paris, France.
There are no arrangements or understandings between Dr. Gruia and any other persons pursuant to which she was chosen as a director of the Company. There are no family relationships between Dr. Gruia and any of the Company’s directors, executive officers, or persons nominated or chosen by the Company to become a director or executive officer. Dr. Gruia is not a party to any current or proposed transaction with the Company for which disclosure is required under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
On May 5, 2023, Dr. Gruia was granted an option to purchase 12,500 shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price of $3.88 per share, which was the closing price of the Company’s common stock on Nasdaq on the date of grant. The option will vest in full on the one year anniversary of the date of grant, subject to Dr. Gruia’s continuous service.
Item 8.01Other Events.
On May 8, 2023, the Company issued a press release announcing the appointment of Dr. Gruia as a director. The full text of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference.
Item 9.01Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits
