Susan Moran
About Susan Moran
Susan Moran, M.D., M.S.C.E. (age 55) has served as an independent director of BioAtla, Inc. (BCAB) since December 2020. She is a board-certified internist with 20+ years spanning industry and academia, and holds a B.A. (University of Virginia), M.D. (Duke University), and M.S. in Clinical Epidemiology (University of Pennsylvania); she has served on the faculties of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| RayzeBio, Inc. | Chief Medical Officer | Jul 2021 – May 2024 | Led clinical programs; company acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb in Feb 2024 |
| QED Therapeutics (BridgeBio) | Chief Medical Officer | Mar 2018 – Jun 2021 | Oversaw infigratinib clinical development leading to approval of Truseltiq |
| Puma Biotechnology, Inc. | Senior Medical Director; later VP & Head of Clinical Development | 2014 – Feb 2018 | Contributed to approval of Nerlynx |
| University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; Harvard Medical School | Faculty | Not disclosed | Academic leadership and clinical research |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aptos Lifesciences LLC | President | Dec 2024 – present | Strategic advising to biotech/biopharma |
| Tyra Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: TYRA) | Director | May 2024 – present | Board service (committee roles not disclosed) |
| Crescent Biopharma | Director | Nov 2024 – present | Board service (committee roles not disclosed) |
Board Governance
- Committee memberships: Compensation Committee member; Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee member .
- Independence: Board determined Dr. Moran is independent under Nasdaq rules; all members of Audit, Compensation, and Nominating committees are independent .
- Attendance: In 2024, each director attended at least 75% of board and applicable committee meetings; all directors attended the 2024 annual meeting .
- Board context: CEO also serves as Chair; Lead Independent Director is Dr. Lawrence Steinman; independent director executive sessions are held regularly .
Fixed Compensation
| Component (FY2024) | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer | $40,000 | Non-employee director policy as amended June 2024 |
| Committee membership fees | $9,000 | Compensation Committee member ($5,000) + Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee member ($4,000) |
| Fees earned (cash total) | $49,000 | Reported in Director Compensation Table |
| Meeting fees | None disclosed | Policy does not include meeting fees |
Performance Compensation
| Equity Award (FY2024) | Grant Date | Shares | Grant-Date Fair Value | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSUs (Director annual grant) | Jun 13, 2024 | 16,500 | $25,905 | Vest on earlier of 1-year anniversary or day before next annual meeting; service-based |
No performance-conditioned director awards (no PSUs or option performance hurdles) are disclosed; director equity is time-based RSUs only .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Public/Private | Role | Interlock/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyra Biosciences, Inc. (TYRA) | Public | Director | TYRA is included in BCAB’s 2024 compensation peer group, creating a potential benchmarking interlock |
| Crescent Biopharma | Not disclosed | Director | No additional interlock disclosed |
- Compensation Committee interlocks: None; members (including Dr. Moran) had no Item 404 relationships; no reciprocal executive/director interlocks were disclosed for 2024 .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Oncology and radiopharmaceutical development; regulatory approvals across multiple tumor types (breast, prostate, thyroid, bile duct, urothelial, lung, neuroendocrine) and other disorders .
- Academic credentials and clinical epidemiology training; board-certified internist; faculty roles at Penn and Harvard .
- Board and CMO experience steering INDs to approval; current advisory/consultancy leadership .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Shares Beneficially Owned | % Outstanding | Unvested RSUs | Options (Exercisable/Unexercisable) | Pledging/Hedging |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Susan Moran, M.D. | 111,114 | <1% | 16,500 (vest within 60 days of Apr 21, 2025) | None disclosed | Company policy prohibits hedging and pledging for directors/executives |
- Director stock ownership guidelines: 3× annual cash retainer; required within 5 years; all non-employee directors met guidelines for FY2024 .
Governance Assessment
- Strengths: Independent director; consistent attendance; active roles on Compensation and Nominating & Governance committees; robust clawback policy and prohibition on hedging/pledging support alignment; director stock ownership guidelines in compliance .
- Compensation alignment: Director pay is balanced (cash retainer plus service-based RSUs); no meeting fees or tax gross-ups; independent compensation consultant retained; no single-trigger change-of-control acceleration .
- Potential conflicts/RED FLAGS:
- Interlock: Moran serves on TYRA’s board while TYRA is in BCAB’s compensation peer group—heightens sensitivity around peer selection and benchmarking objectivity; mitigating disclosure shows no Item 404 related-party issues among compensation committee members .
- Related-party exposure: None disclosed for Moran; company-level related-party transactions involve Himalaya Therapeutics (CEO-linked); oversight via Audit Committee and related-person policy .
- Engagement signal: Nom/gov responsibilities include evaluating independence and conflicts; compensation committee responsibilities include non-employee director pay and risk assessments, indicating she participates in key governance levers .