António Parada
iBioAbout António Parada
António Parada (age 57) is an independent Class I director of iBio, Inc., appointed in November 2024. He is Founder and CEO of FairJourney Biologics, a leading antibody discovery CRO; prior roles include leadership at IBMC (Portugal), IPO Porto’s Clinical Trial Unit, and Ablynx’s phage display center. He holds a degree from the University of Porto and an MBA from Portuguese Catholic University, and has served as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of EMBLEM since 2011. He is currently a member of iBio’s Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee; the Board classifies him as independent.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular (IBMC), Porto | General Manager | 2002–2013 | Led administration and operations |
| IPO Porto – Cancer Hospital, Portugal | Manager, Clinical Trial Unit | Feb 2011–May 2012 | Clinical trial operations |
| Ablynx (Sanofi subsidiary) – Centre of Excellence in Phage Display, Portugal | Site Manager | Jun 2008–Mar 2012 | Antibody discovery operations |
| BioCodex Group | Founder & CEO | Jun 2002–Dec 2008 | Built a consulting firm to ~€10M turnover |
| CDEMAC (Centro de Diagnóstico y Estudios Metabólicos Avanzados de Cantabria) | Board Member | May 2014–May 2017 | Board service |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| FairJourney Biologics (private antibody CRO) | Founder & CEO | May 2012–Present | Majority acquired by Partners Group in Jun 2024 |
| EMBLEM | Chairman, Supervisory Board | Jan 2011–Present | Governance leadership |
Board Governance
- Independence and service
- Independent director under Nasdaq standards; Board affirms independence for all directors except the CEO. Parada serves on the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee (NCGC).
- Director since Nov 2024; Class I term expiring at the 2027 Annual Meeting.
- Committee assignments and chair roles
- NCGC: Member (Chair: Dr. Alexandra Kropotova; other members: David Arkowitz, António Parada). No chair role disclosed for Parada.
- Attendance and engagement
- FY2025: Board met 6x; Audit 6x, Compensation 4x, NCGC 5x; each current director attended at least 75% of Board/committee meetings during their service. All directors attended the 2024 Annual Meeting.
- Shareholder and nomination context
- A side letter with investor Lynx1 granted it the right to nominate one director for one three-year term; Lynx1 nominated Parada at the 2024 Annual Meeting.
Fixed Compensation
| Component | FY2025 Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Board retainer (policy, if full-year) | $40,000 | Policy retainer for non-employee directors |
| Committee retainers (policy, member/chair) | Audit $10,000/$20,000; Compensation $7,500/$15,000; NCGC $5,000/$10,000 | Policy amounts |
| Fees earned or paid in cash (Parada actual) | $27,351 | Prorated for partial FY2025 service (joined Nov 2024) |
Performance Compensation
| Equity Award | Grant/Type | Quantity | Grant-Date Fair Value | Vesting | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial director option grant | Non-employee director option | 12,600 | $30,803 | 25% at 1-year anniversary; remainder quarterly over 36 months (policy) | Options granted at fair market value on grant date per policy |
iBio’s non-employee director compensation is option-heavy with time-based vesting; no director PSUs/RSUs or performance-metric-based awards disclosed for directors in FY2025.
Other Directorships & Interlocks
- Public company directorships: None disclosed for Parada.
- Notable interlocks/influences:
- Investor nomination: Lynx1 nomination right (Parada nominated) for one three-year term; monitor for potential investor influence on Board composition.
- Operating role outside iBio: Active CEO of FairJourney Biologics (private CRO); no iBio related‑party transactions with FairJourney disclosed.
Expertise & Qualifications
- Antibody discovery and CRO leadership; >250 clients supported globally via FairJourney Biologics.
- Governance and supervisory experience (EMBLEM); prior operational leadership across research and clinical trial organizations.
- Education: University of Porto; MBA, Portuguese Catholic University.
Equity Ownership
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total beneficial ownership | 188,023 shares; less than 1% of 20,254,599 shares outstanding as of Oct 3, 2025 |
| Composition | Includes 183,823 common shares and 4,200 options exercisable or becoming exercisable within 60 days of Oct 3, 2025 |
| Options outstanding (as of Jun 30, 2025) | 12,600 options outstanding; 2,450 vested at that date (director initial grant) |
| Pledging/hedging | Prohibited for directors under the Insider Trading Policy (also prohibits short sales, derivatives, margin) |
| Ownership guidelines | No director stock ownership guideline disclosed |
Insider Trades (Director-Related Transactions)
| Date | Transaction | Security | Shares/Price | Consideration | Reporting Party/Vehicle | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 10, 2025 | Private placement (at-the-market) | Common Stock | 183,823 @ $2.72 | $500,000 | MagicRoad SGPS, Unipessoal LDA (sole director/shareholder: António Parada) | |
| Jan 10, 2025 | Private placement (aggregate deal terms) | Common Stock | 240,807 @ $2.72 | ~$655,000 gross | Officers and directors (deal announcement) |
Related-Party & Conflicts Check
- Related-party transactions: The proxy discloses the January 2025 private placement to directors/officers; MagicRoad (controlled by Parada) was the only investor >$120,000 (183,823 shares for $500,000). No other Parada-related transactions were disclosed. The Audit Committee reviews and pre-approves related-party transactions.
- Nomination rights: Lynx1’s nomination right and selection of Parada is disclosed (potential influence).
- Vendor conflicts: No disclosed transactions with FairJourney Biologics; continue monitoring for any vendor relationships given Parada’s CEO role.
Governance Assessment
- Positive signals
- Independent director with deep antibody discovery/CRO expertise; serves on NCGC, supporting board refreshment and governance processes.
- Strong engagement: Board states all current members met the 75% attendance threshold; directors attended the 2024 Annual Meeting.
- Alignment: Significant personal investment ($500k via MagicRoad) in Jan 2025 private placement; option-based director pay aligns with long-term equity value.
- Risk controls: Company prohibits hedging/pledging and short-term trading for directors.
- Watch items / RED FLAGS to monitor
- Investor nomination right: Parada’s seat originated from Lynx1’s nomination right (potential investor influence on board composition).
- External CEO role: Active leadership of a major antibody CRO (FairJourney) could present future related‑party considerations if iBio engages CRO services (no such transactions disclosed to date).
Context: iBio’s 2024 Say‑on‑Pay support was ~91%, indicating generally favorable investor sentiment toward compensation practices, and the Board uses an independent comp consultant (Aon).