Dottie Caplan
Applied TherapeuticsAbout Dottie Caplan
Executive Vice President, Patient Advocacy and Government Affairs at Applied Therapeutics (APLT). Promoted in June 2025 from Senior Vice President, Patient Advocacy and Engagement; joined APLT in April 2020. Leads patient engagement and advocacy plus regulatory, legislative, and public policy functions supporting rare-disease programs (govorestat in Classic Galactosemia, CMT-SORD and PMM2‑CDG). Prior roles include VP, Patient Advocacy and Engagement at Vertex and senior public affairs and corporate affairs leadership at Sanofi Genzyme; MBA (Wichita State University) and BS in Journalism (University of Kansas). Age not disclosed.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Applied Therapeutics | SVP, Patient Advocacy & Engagement | Apr 2020–Jun 2025 | Implemented patient voice in clinical development; advocacy leadership across APLT’s rare-disease pipeline |
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals | VP, Patient Advocacy & Engagement | Not disclosed (prior to 2020) | Led integrated advocacy/engagement across CF, AATD, sickle cell, beta thalassemia, APOL‑1 kidney disease, DMD |
| Sanofi Genzyme (Sanofi North America) | Head, US Immunology Public Affairs; Head, Corporate Affairs Launch Readiness & Life Cycle Management | Not disclosed (prior to 2020) | Led engagement with regulators, legislators, policy makers, advocacy groups, professional societies, payers and NGOs |
External Roles
- Not disclosed in company filings or press releases reviewed. (No other public-company directorships or committee roles identified.)
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Beneficial ownership: Not disclosed for Ms. Caplan (she is not a director or named executive officer in the April 2025 proxy ownership table).
- Hedging/pledging: Company policy prohibits all directors and employees, including executive officers, from hedging transactions and from holding or pledging APLT securities in margin accounts; Rule 10b5‑1 plans are permitted subject to policy.
- Trading plans/selling pressure signals: Company reported no officer or director adopted or terminated a Rule 10b5‑1 or non‑Rule 10b5‑1 trading arrangement during Q2–Q3 2025.
Employment Terms
- Role start dates: Joined APLT April 2020; promoted to EVP June 15, 2025.
- Contract economics (salary, bonus targets, severance, change‑of‑control terms, non‑compete, non‑solicit, garden leave, post‑termination consulting): Not disclosed for Ms. Caplan in filings reviewed (these details are typically provided only for named executive officers).
Performance Compensation
- Not disclosed for Ms. Caplan. Company-level compensation governance applicable to executives includes a Dodd‑Frank compliant clawback policy to recoup incentive-based pay after a required accounting restatement.
Fixed Compensation
- Not disclosed for Ms. Caplan (no salary or bonus detail provided outside the named executive officer tables).
Performance & Track Record
- Scope and execution: As EVP, leads patient advocacy, government affairs, and public policy during key regulatory junctures for govorestat; the Company has a scheduled FDA meeting in Q4 2025 to align the regulatory path forward for Classic Galactosemia following a 2024 CRL.
- Program context: PMM2‑CDG single‑patient investigator‑initiated trial reported well‑tolerated treatment and biomarker/NPCRS improvement, supporting continued stakeholder engagement (relevant to patient advocacy and policy interface).
- Corporate environment: Company is addressing derivative litigation and governance reforms; increased management turnover risk is disclosed broadly (no indication Ms. Caplan is individually named).
Compensation Structure Analysis
- Data for Ms. Caplan is not disclosed; however, company-wide safeguards (clawback, anti‑hedging/pledging) reduce misalignment risk between equity incentives and long-term shareholder value.
- No evidence of option repricing, tax gross‑ups, or guaranteed bonuses linked to Ms. Caplan in filings reviewed.
Vesting Schedules and Insider Selling Pressure
- Individual equity grant and vesting schedules for Ms. Caplan are not disclosed.
- Signals: No officer/director 10b5‑1 adoptions/terminations in Q2–Q3 2025; anti‑pledging policy in force—both reduce near‑term structural selling pressure risk indicators.
Related Party Transactions
- No related-party transactions involving Ms. Caplan identified in the 2025 proxy’s related‑party section.
Expertise & Qualifications
- Expertise: Patient advocacy, government affairs, public policy, launch readiness, and stakeholder engagement across rare and specialty diseases.
- Education: MBA (Wichita State University); BS, Journalism (University of Kansas).
Work History & Career Trajectory
| Employer | Role(s) | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Applied Therapeutics | EVP, Patient Advocacy & Government Affairs; previously SVP, Patient Advocacy & Engagement | 2020–present | Expanded remit to regulatory, legislative and public policy in 2025; central to rare-disease stakeholder strategy |
| Vertex Pharmaceuticals | VP, Patient Advocacy & Engagement | Pre‑2020 | Led advocacy across multiple therapeutic areas |
| Sanofi Genzyme / Sanofi North America | Head, US Immunology Public Affairs; Head, Corporate Affairs Launch Readiness & LCM | Pre‑2020 | Broad external engagement with regulators, legislators, payers, NGOs |
Investment Implications
- Advocacy/regulatory leverage: Caplan’s expanded remit directly spans FDA and policy engagement during pivotal regulatory steps for govorestat (e.g., FDA meeting scheduled Q4’25), a potential catalyst path that can influence timelines and labeling—key equity drivers in rare disease. Execution quality here is a positive signal for regulatory navigation and payer/policy readiness.
- Alignment and overhang: While personal ownership/vesting are undisclosed, APLT’s anti‑hedging/pledging policy and lack of new officer/director trading plans in recent quarters reduce perceived selling overhang from insiders. Absence of individual severance/CoC disclosure for Caplan leaves retention economics opaque.
- Governance and risk backdrop: Ongoing derivative actions and senior leadership transitions raise general governance and retention risk, increasing the importance of stable external‑facing leadership in advocacy/government affairs to sustain regulatory momentum and stakeholder confidence.