Pieris Pharmaceuticals Appoints Claude Knopf as Chief Business Officer

05-Dec-2016 - USA

Pieris Pharmaceuticals announced that it has appointed Claude Knopf as Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer. Mr. Knopf is an accomplished executive in the biotech industry and brings to Pieris a demonstrable track record of success in strategy, corporate development, licensing, alliance management, marketing and sales spanning more than two decades.

"Claude's appointment follows our strategy of strengthening our leadership team in Boston with high caliber talent. His consistent track record of successfully leading teams spanning diverse therapeutic areas including oncology and immunology will bring immediate value to Pieris, and it's a pleasure to welcome him aboard," said Stephen Yoder, President and CEO.

Prior to joining Pieris, Mr. Knopf served from July 2013 to July 2016 as Senior Vice President, Global Head Business Development & Licensing/Mergers and Acquisitions at Baxalta (formerly Baxter Bioscience) where through partnering and acquisitions he helped develop the Oncology business and pipeline and strengthened the Hematology and Immunology divisions. Prior to joining Baxalta, from 2001 to 2013 Mr. Knopf held several business development, alliance management, licensing and marketing roles at Novartis, most recently as the Head of Business Development and Licensing - Strategic Planning, Vaccines European Region. From 1995 until joining Novartis in 2001, Mr. Knopf also held several marketing, sales and finance positions at Merck Sharpe & Dohme. Mr. Knopf holds a Master of International Business Studies from the University of South Carolina, Moore School of Business and an BA in Economics from Manchester College.

"I'm excited to join Pieris and a great team," said Mr. Knopf, "and I am looking forward to helping advance a pipeline of novel and highly differentiated therapies."

In connection with the hiring of Mr. Knopf, the Company's Board of Directors authorized the grant to Mr. Knopf of a non-qualified stock option to purchase up to 500,000 shares of the Company's common stock, effective as of the first day of his employment. The option grant is an inducement material to Mr. Knopf's entering into employment with the Company in accordance with NASDAQ listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The option has an exercise price of $1.45 per share, the fair market value of the Company's common stock on the date of grant and will vest as to 25% of the shares on the first anniversary of Mr. Knopf's employment and as to an additional 6.25% of the shares per quarter thereafter, provided that he continues to provide service to the Company on the applicable vesting date. The option has a ten-year term and is subject to the terms and conditions of a stock option agreement.

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