James Gow

About James Gow

James A. Gow, MD, MBA, MS, MHCM, is Senior Vice President, Head of Clinical Development & Medical Affairs at Abeona Therapeutics, appointed effective October 20, 2025. He brings 20+ years of industry experience and is a recognized expert in gene therapy, especially ophthalmology, with a track record leading programs from Phase 1 through post‑marketing that contributed to FDA approvals of Xibrom, Bromday, Prolensa, Bepreve, and global regulatory approvals of Xiidra . His appointment aligns with Abeona’s 2025 transition to commercialization following FDA approval of ZEVASKYN (pz‑cel) for RDEB (April 28, 2025) and the advancement of its ophthalmology AAV pipeline, including ABO‑503 (XLRS) being selected for FDA’s RDEA Pilot Program . Educational credentials: MD (University of Manitoba), MBA and MS in Healthcare Policy & Research (Cornell), and MHCM (Harvard) .

Past Roles

Fixed Compensation

• Not disclosed in company filings as of November 2025. James Gow’s appointment is noted in an Abeona press release and referenced in the Q3 2025 10‑Q and a November 2025 8‑K, but no base salary or bonus targets are provided .

Performance Compensation

• Not disclosed in company filings as of November 2025. The company’s 2025 filings referencing Gow’s appointment do not include incentive metric design, weightings, or equity grant details for him .
• Company practice for NEOs emphasizes time‑based restricted stock vesting over multiple years (e.g., 2024 grants vest fully by 2027), indicating a retention‑oriented equity mix; however, no Gow‑specific award terms are disclosed .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

• Beneficial ownership table (record date March 24, 2025) does not list James Gow (his appointment occurred in October 2025) .
• Hedging/pledging: Abeona’s insider trading policy prohibits short‑term speculative trading, hedging, holding stock in margin accounts, or pledging company stock—mitigating alignment risk across executives .
• Equity plans: Company maintains active equity programs (e.g., 2023 Equity Incentive Plan and 2023 Inducement Plan) with substantial capacity; multiple 2025 inducement grants were made to non‑executive hires using time‑based RS vesting over three years, but no inducement award for Gow has been disclosed .

Employment Terms

• No Item 5.02 8‑K detailing James Gow’s offer terms was identified; his appointment is mentioned in a company press release (Oct 20, 2025), reiterated in Q3 2025 10‑Q and a November 2025 8‑K update, without compensation or severance/CIC specifics .
• Companywide: executives are provided standard retirement benefits available to all employees, including a 401(k) with company match .
• Clawback/ownership guidelines: Not specifically disclosed for Gow in available filings; the company’s governance materials emphasize independent compensation oversight and peer benchmarking via Radford .

Performance & Track Record

• Domain expertise and approvals: 20+ years in clinical development/medical affairs; leadership contributed to FDA approvals (Xibrom, Bromday, Prolensa, Bepreve) and global Xiidra approvals—directly relevant to Abeona’s ophthalmology AAV programs .
• Company execution context:
  • FDA approval of ZEVASKYN (pz‑cel) for RDEB on April 28, 2025; manufacturing and commercialization underway .
  • ABO‑503 (XLRS) selected for FDA’s RDEA Pilot Program, enabling enhanced FDA interactions for novel endpoints—strong fit with Gow’s ophthalmology gene therapy expertise .
  • Q3 2025 operations: temporary pause in biopsy collection due to a rapid sterility assay false positive; assay optimization completed and biopsy collection resumed in November 2025—an operational risk mitigated via process improvements .
  • Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and ST investments of $207.5M as of September 30, 2025, supporting multi‑year operating runway (pre‑revenue contribution from ZEVASKYN) .

Investment Implications

• Positive alignment: Gow’s ophthalmology gene therapy track record maps directly to Abeona’s preclinical AAV pipeline (ABO‑503/504/505), and RDEA selection for ABO‑503 could accelerate clinical validation—his leadership may be a catalyst for pipeline value creation .
• Transparency gap: As of November 2025, the company has not disclosed Gow’s compensation, equity grant size, vesting schedule, or severance/CIC terms—limiting visibility into pay‑for‑performance alignment and potential vesting‑driven selling pressure. Monitor for an 8‑K 5.02 or next DEF 14A for specifics .
• Governance mitigants: Company prohibits hedging/pledging and typically utilizes multi‑year time‑based RS for executives, which supports retention and reduces misalignment risk, though Gow‑specific awards are not yet disclosed .
• Execution watch‑items: Commercial scale‑up of ZEVASKYN and continued CMC robustness after sterility assay remediation, plus progression of ophthalmology AAV programs through FDA engagement under RDEA—areas where Gow’s function (clinical development & medical affairs) may influence timelines and endpoints .