James Hamilton
Chief of Discovery and Translational Medicine at ARWR
Executive
About James Hamilton
James Hamilton, MD/MBA, age 47, is Chief of Discovery & Translational Medicine at Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, responsible for target discovery and non-clinical/early clinical development across multiple disease areas; he joined Arrowhead in 2014 after roles in clinical development and corporate development, and holds both MD and MBA degrees from The Ohio State University with board certification in emergency medicine . Company performance context: FY2024 revenue was $3.6 million, net loss $599.5 million, cash and investments $681.0 million at 9/30/2024, and three-year TSR at the 28th percentile of the peer group measured in September 2024 . Strategic execution in 2024 included NDA submission and acceptance for plozasiran (PDUFA date Nov 18, 2025), a major collaboration with Sarepta (upfront $500m + $325m equity + $250m installments + milestones/royalties), and multiple Phase 3/2 program milestones across cardiometabolic and other pipelines .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals | Chief of Discovery & Translational Medicine | Not disclosed | Leads discovery, non-clinical and early clinical development across virology, hepatology, cardiovascular, rare disease, oncology; led clinical development of ARO-HBV; helped execute out-licensing (ARO-LPA to Amgen) and partnership with Takeda, and in-licensing of Novartis RNAi assets . |
| Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals | Vice President, Clinical Development | Not disclosed | Oversaw clinical strategy, trial design/execution including early translational and mid-stage development across programs . |
| Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals | Medical Director & Head of Corporate Development | 2014–Not disclosed | Initiated employment at Arrowhead; led corporate development transactions and early medical leadership . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| None disclosed | — | — | No external public company directorships or roles disclosed for Hamilton . |
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary ($) | $450,436 | $511,178 | $567,937 |
| Base Salary Set for Year ($) | — | $525,000 | $582,400 (11% increase vs FY2023 base) |
| All Other Compensation ($) | $13,798 | $14,715 | $15,261 |
| Total Compensation ($) | $4,323,314 | $3,046,943 | $3,487,444 |
Notes:
- Arrowhead provides no executive perquisites, special welfare/health benefits, retirement plans beyond broad-based employee programs, and no tax gross-ups; stock option re-pricing is prohibited .
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting/Payment Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate/Business Development | 40% | Meet goals in BD, capitalization, commercialization readiness, manufacturing utilization | Met: major collaboration (Sarepta) recapitalization; Verona facility supply commitments; medical affairs field force deployment | Part of aggregate result leading to 120% of target for Hamilton | Annual cash bonus earned for calendar 2024 and paid in FY2025 |
| Clinical Development & Regulatory | 40% | Meet goals for Phase 3 programs and regulatory milestones | Met: launched three Phase 3 plozasiran studies; FCS EAP; NDA submitted to FDA | See above | See above |
| Discovery & Early Development | 20% | Meet goals for preclinical and early clinical programs | Met: timelines for seven Phase 1 assets; filed three CTAs; nominated six new drug candidates | See above | See above |
| Annual Incentive Detail (Hamilton) | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Target Bonus (% of Base) | 45% | 45% | 45% |
| Actual Bonus ($) | $212,580 | $236,250 | $314,496 (120% of target) |
Long-term equity for Hamilton in FY2024:
- RSUs: 75,000 shares granted on 01/04/2024, grant date fair value $2,589,750; vest in 4 equal annual installments beginning one year from grant date (scheduled vesting: 01/04/2025, 01/04/2026, 01/04/2027, 01/04/2028), subject to continued employment .
Governance guardrails (company-wide):
- Clawback policy updated Nov 2023 for non-fault recovery upon restatements; stock ownership guidelines apply to CEO (6x salary) and CFO (2x salary); hedging prohibited and pledging limited to up to 75% of owned and vested shares with Board approval; double-trigger acceleration for CEO only; no dividends on unvested awards .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total Beneficial Ownership | 272,122 shares; <1% of shares outstanding as of 01/17/2025 . |
| Stock Ownership Guidelines | Company policy mandates guidelines for CEO and CFO only; none disclosed for Hamilton . |
| Hedging/Pledging | Hedging prohibited; pledging allowed up to 75% of owned and vested shares with Board approval; no Hamilton pledging disclosed . |
| Vested vs Unvested (9/30/2024) | Unvested RSUs: 12,500 (01/01/2021), 27,500 (01/01/2022), 45,000 (01/04/2023), 75,000 (01/04/2024); aggregate market value $3,099,200 at $19.37 share price . |
| RSU Vesting Activity (FY2024) | 52,500 shares vested; value realized on vesting $1,773,225 . |
| Options | No outstanding options disclosed for Hamilton . |
Employment Terms
- Severance: No severance arrangement for James Hamilton; the Company notes severance for CFO (3 months) and COO (6 months upon change-of-control) and specific CEO terms, but none for Hamilton .
- Change-of-Control: Company plans provide single-trigger full vesting of unvested awards upon change of control (Board may determine otherwise); CEO’s awards require double-trigger. As of 9/30/2024, Hamilton’s unvested RSUs would have an acceleration value of $3,099,200 based on $19.37 closing price .
- Non-compete/Non-solicit/Garden leave: Not disclosed .
- Clawback: Non-fault recovery upon restatement applies to executive officers (including Hamilton) .
- Insider Trading Policy: Prohibits short-term trading, short sales, options trading, trading on margin, and hedging; pledging limited with approval .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance and retention: Hamilton’s cash incentive tied to company-wide BD, clinical/regulatory, and discovery milestones yielded 120% of target for 2024, indicating high linkage of pay to execution; unvested RSUs totaling 160,000 shares create strong multi-year retention and alignment, but also represent future supply that may contribute to selling pressure upon vesting .
- Change-of-control incentives: Single-trigger acceleration for Hamilton could increase realized value in an M&A event; lack of severance reduces exit protection but aligns incentives with continued value creation and vesting .
- Governance risk profile: No perquisites/tax gross-ups and clawback policy are investor-friendly; hedging is prohibited but pledging up to 75% is permitted with Board approval—a potential red flag if utilized (no Hamilton pledging disclosed) .
- Execution track record: 2024 milestones (NDA acceptance, Phase 3 launches, Sarepta transaction) strengthen confidence in Hamilton’s domain leadership; however, low FY2024 revenue and larger net loss frame execution risk and capital needs ahead of commercial outcomes and partner monetization; TSR underperformance vs peers (28th percentile) suggests equity-based incentives may be under water, increasing retention risk but also leverage to future catalysts .
Quotes are derived from Arrowhead’s 2025 DEF 14A proxy statement; all figures and statements are cited accordingly: