Andreas Busch
About Andreas Busch
Andreas Busch, Ph.D., is Chief Innovation Officer at Absci, employed via Absci GmbH since September 2022; age 61 as of March 31, 2025, with prior senior R&D leadership roles at Cyclerion, Shire, Bayer, Hoechst and Sanofi-Aventis, and an Extraordinary Professorship at Goethe University Frankfurt . During his tenure, Absci achieved 100% of corporate performance goals in 2023 and 2024 focused on pipeline advancement, strategic partnerships, R&D milestones, AI platform development, and cash flow objectives . Company financials show modest revenues with significant investment in operations; see “Company Performance” for quantitative context.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cyclerion Therapeutics, Inc. | Chief Scientific Officer and Chief Innovation Officer; Head of Innovation Center | 2019–2022 | Led CNS biotherapeutics innovation and R&D operations . |
| Shire plc | EVP, Head of R&D; Chief Scientific Officer | 2018–2019 | Ran global R&D and integration pre‑Takeda acquisition . |
| Bayer AG / Bayer HealthCare / Bayer Pharma | Executive VP; Global Head Drug Discovery; Executive Committee member | 2006–2017 | Oversaw drug discovery from target ID to PoC; integrated Schering’s discovery R&D; improved research productivity . |
| Hoechst & Sanofi‑Aventis | Global Head of Cardiovascular Research | Not disclosed | Led cardiovascular drug discovery . |
| Absci Corporation | Independent Director (transitioned to CIO) | Mar–Sep 2022 | Resigned from Board upon CIO appointment . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johann Wolfgang Goethe‑University Frankfurt | Extraordinary Professor of Pharmacology | Not disclosed | Academic leadership and recognition . |
| German Cancer Research Center; University of Tübingen; Max Delbrück Center; Max Planck Institute of Molecular Genetics | Supervisory/Scientific Board member | Not disclosed | Governance across leading research institutes . |
| Takeda; Omeicos; BerlinCures | Board/Advisory roles | Not disclosed | Industry oversight in pharma and startups . |
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Salary (USD) | $630,209 | $654,095 | — |
| Base Salary (CHF) | 566,000 CHF (as of Mar 1, 2023) | 577,320 CHF (effective Mar 1, 2024) | 593,485 CHF (effective Mar 1, 2025) |
| Target Bonus % of Base | 60% | 60% | Not disclosed |
| Actual Annual Bonus Paid (USD) | $415,938 | $392,457 | Not disclosed |
| All Other Compensation (USD) | $86,737 (Swiss pension/insurance + health allowance) | $125,506 (Swiss pension/insurance) | Not disclosed |
Notes: Salary is paid in CHF through Absci GmbH and converted to USD in the proxy’s summary compensation table .
Performance Compensation
Annual Bonus Plan Structure and Outcomes
| Metric Category | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pipeline development | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Achieved (2023, 2024) | Corporate goals paid at 100% (2023, 2024) | Cash bonus paid in Q1 following year |
| Strategic partnerships | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Achieved | 100% | Cash |
| R&D milestones | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Achieved | 100% | Cash |
| AI platform development | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Achieved | 100% | Cash |
| Cash flow objectives | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Achieved | 100% | Cash |
Equity Awards – Stock Options (Selected Grants)
| Grant Date | Vest Start | Exercisable (#) | Unexercisable (#) | Strike ($) | Expiration | Vesting Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/03/2022 | 09/30/2022 | 1,125,005 | 875,004 | 2.97 | 10/02/2032 | 25% at 1st anniversary (09/30/2023), then monthly over 36 months |
| 03/01/2023 | 03/01/2023 | 240,625 | 309,375 | 2.01 | 02/28/2033 | 25% at 1st anniversary (03/01/2024), then monthly over 36 months |
| 02/01/2024 | 02/01/2024 | — | 349,625 | 4.40 | 01/31/2034 | 33% at 1st anniversary (02/01/2025), then annual installments |
Equity Awards – RSUs (Selected Grants)
| Grant Date | Unvested RSUs (#) at 12/31/2024 | Market Value at 12/31/2024 ($) | Vesting Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/12/2023 | 116,667 | 305,668 | Equal annual installments on 10/12/2024, 10/12/2025, 10/12/2026 |
| 02/01/2024 | 83,125 | 217,788 | 33% at 02/01/2025, then equal annual installments through 02/01/2027 |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Total beneficial ownership (as of 03/31/2025) | 1,829,276 shares |
| Ownership % of shares outstanding | 1.41% |
| Breakdown (within 60 days): Options exercisable | 1,747,796 shares |
| Breakdown: Common shares held | 81,480 shares |
| Vested vs unvested awards (12/31/2024 snapshot) | See option/RSU tables above |
| Shares pledged as collateral | Prohibited by Insider Trading Policy (pledging banned) |
| Hedging of company stock | Prohibited (no puts/calls/derivatives/hedging) |
| Stock ownership guidelines (executives) | Not disclosed |
Employment Terms
- Start date and tenure: Appointed CIO effective around September 30, 2022; resigned from Board upon appointment . Roughly 2.5–3 years in role as of early 2025 .
- Base salary and benefits: Salary set in CHF via Absci GmbH; Swiss pension and disability benefits above compulsory levels; health insurance allowance up to CHF 350/month .
- Severance (outside change-in-control): 9 months base salary, subject to release (and potentially a one-year noncompete at the company’s discretion) .
- Change-of-control economics (double trigger): If terminated without cause or resigns for good reason within the change-in-control period, a lump sum equal to 12 months base salary plus 1x annual target bonus; subject to release .
- Clawback policy: Adopted August 3, 2023, enabling recovery of erroneously awarded incentive compensation upon required accounting restatement per Nasdaq/Rule 10D‑1 .
- Insider trading, hedging/pledging: Short sales, derivatives/hedging, margin use/pledging prohibited for insiders .
Company Performance (context during Busch’s tenure)
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues (USD) | $5.747M [FY2022]* | $5.718M | $4.534M |
| EBITDA (USD) | -$93.713M* | -$79.681M* | -$94.099M* |
| Net Income (USD) | -$104.904M | -$110.566M | -$103.106M |
| Cash from Operations (USD) | -$81.339M | -$64.636M | -$72.402M |
Values marked with an asterisk were retrieved from S&P Global and may not have document citations. Values retrieved from S&P Global.
Say‑on‑Pay & Shareholder Feedback
- As an emerging growth company, Absci is not required to conduct advisory votes on executive compensation or frequency, and provides scaled “smaller reporting company” disclosures .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance alignment: Annual incentive paid at 100% in 2023 and 2024 reflects delivery against pipeline, partnerships, R&D and AI milestones; equity mix includes multi‑year options and RSUs with vesting over 3–4 years, aligning long‑term incentives with execution .
- Retention risk: Severance provides 9 months base outside change-in-control and 12 months base + 1x bonus under double‑trigger CIC; meaningful unvested equity (2023–2024 grants) creates retention hooks through 2026–2027 .
- Trading signals: Hedging/pledging prohibitions reduce misalignment risk; beneficial holdings are predominantly options exercisable within 60 days, suggesting potential exercise/sale decisions could track vesting calendars (e.g., 02/01/2025 and 10/12/2025 RSU tranches) .
- Execution risk/value creation: Company financials indicate ongoing investment with negative EBITDA and operating cash flows; success hinges on progressing internal programs and partnerships to clinical/monetization milestones highlighted in proxy narrative . Continuous monitoring of award vesting dates (09/30/2025 for 2022 options completion; 03/01/2026 for 2023 options; 02/01/2027 for 2024 RSUs) is prudent for anticipating potential insider liquidity events .
Data gaps: Detailed bonus metric weightings/targets and insider Form 4 trading analysis were not disclosed here; no executive stock ownership guidelines were found. Consider a follow‑up Form 4 analysis to quantify net selling/buying pressure over the last 24 months.