Joan Connolly
About Joan Connolly
Joan Connolly is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of enGene, appointed October 21, 2024; she is 56, with 30+ years of CMC, manufacturing and supply-chain leadership at Albireo, Stemline, ImClone, and Bristol-Myers Squibb; she holds a B.Sc. in Engineering Chemistry from Queen’s University . enGene expects a mid-2026 BLA filing for detalimogene and reported cash and marketable securities of $272.8M (runway into 2027), with Q1 FY2025 operating expenses of $26.6M and net loss of $24.6M, framing the execution context for Connolly’s remit in technical operations scale-up .
Company financial snapshot:
| Metric | Q1 FY2025 (ended Jan 31, 2025) |
|---|---|
| Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities ($M) | 272.8 |
| Total operating expenses ($M) | 26.6 |
| Net loss ($M) | 24.6 |
| Net loss per share ($) | 0.48 |
| Guidance/context | BLA planned mid-2026; runway into 2027 |
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albireo Pharma | Chief Technology Officer | 2021–2023 | Oversaw drug substance/product development, clinical distribution, commercial supply chain and quality |
| Stemline Therapeutics | SVP, Technical Operations | 2013–2021 | Led technical operations; precedes Albireo CTO role |
| ImClone Systems | Senior roles (Technical/Operations) | Not disclosed | Senior roles in development/manufacturing functions |
| Bristol-Myers Squibb | Senior roles (Technical/Operations) | Not disclosed | Senior roles in development/manufacturing functions |
External Roles
- No outside public-company directorships disclosed for Ms. Connolly in company filings reviewed .
Fixed Compensation
- Ms. Connolly was not a named executive officer in FY2024; her base salary and bonus details were not itemized in the 2025 proxy’s Summary Compensation Table (which covered the CEO, CMO, CLO and former CEO) .
Performance Compensation
Company-wide annual cash bonuses were tied to corporate goals (calendar 2024) across clinical progress for detalimogene, DDX platform indications, manufacturing of detalimogene, financing, and organizational/brand building; specific metric weightings and Connolly-specific payouts were not disclosed .
| Metric category (company plan) | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical development (detalimogene) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Assessed by Comp Cttee | Not disclosed | Cash bonus (annual) |
| Manufacturing/CMC execution | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Assessed by Comp Cttee | Not disclosed | Cash bonus (annual) |
| Financing and organizational goals | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Assessed by Comp Cttee | Not disclosed | Cash bonus (annual) |
Context on equity program and grant practices:
- Equity awards are granted under the Amended & Restated 2023 Incentive Equity Plan (and via inducement awards when applicable), with governance to avoid grants during MNPI windows; specific CTO award terms were not disclosed .
- For FY2024, NEO stock options had 10-year terms and time-based vesting (25% at 1-year, then monthly over 3 years), illustrating typical design; Connolly’s individual equity grants were not disclosed .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Beneficial ownership: Ms. Connolly is not listed among directors and named executive officers in the beneficial ownership table as of April 25, 2025; her individual ownership was not disclosed .
- Hedging/pledging: enGene’s Insider Trading Policy prohibits hedging and derivatives and strongly discourages using company securities as collateral or in margin accounts; 10b5-1 plans are permitted and quarterly blackout windows are maintained .
- Lock-up/selling pressure: In the November 2025 underwritten offering, officers (including “Joan Connolly, Chief Technology Officer”) signed 90-day lock-up agreements, limiting near-term secondary sales and implying a potential window post-lockup expiry thereafter .
- Equity plan capacity/governance: The 2023 Incentive Equity Plan provides for options, SARs, RSUs and other awards with established limits and change-in-control mechanics; non-employee director annual compensation is capped, and award deferrals/withholding are governed by plan terms .
Employment Terms
- Appointment: Connolly appointed CTO effective October 21, 2024 .
- Contract/severance: No individual employment agreement, severance or change-in-control terms for Ms. Connolly were filed in the documents reviewed. Other executives’ agreements commonly include 12 months’ salary/benefits upon termination without cause or for good reason (and enhanced terms upon CIC), noncompete/nonsolicit, arbitration, and clawback policy applicability—provided here only as company context (not as Connolly’s terms) .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Absence of disclosed personal holdings limits precision on “skin in the game,” but company policy bans hedging and discourages pledging; plan governance and 10b5-1 allowances support orderly trading and alignment .
- Retention risk: No CTO-specific severance or CIC protections were disclosed; however, Connolly’s profile (commercial supply and CMC leadership) is tightly aligned with the company’s mid-2026 BLA objective, potentially reducing execution risk in CMC scale-up and supply-chain readiness .
- Trading signals: A 90-day post-offering lock-up covering officers, including Connolly, reduces near-term insider selling overhang; watch for any 10b5-1 plan disclosures and post-lock-up Form 4 activity to gauge selling pressure .
- Execution lens: With Q1 FY2025 operating expenses of $26.6M and runway into 2027, Connolly’s impact will be most visible in manufacturing readiness, quality systems, and supply continuity ahead of potential commercialization, all critical to BLA review and launch timing .