Chad Cowan
About Chad Cowan
Chad Cowan, Ph.D., age 53, is Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) at Century Therapeutics (NASDAQ: IPSC), appointed effective October 1, 2024, after serving as Executive Scientific Advisor to the company following IPSC’s April 2024 acquisition of Clade Therapeutics, where he was Founder and CEO . He is a pioneer in stem and cell therapy: Founder/CSO of Sana Biotechnology (2018–2019), Co‑founder/Head of Research at CRISPR Therapeutics (2015–2017), and previously Associate Professor at Harvard University/Harvard Medical School with leadership roles at the Broad Institute and Harvard Stem Cell Institute; he holds a Ph.D. from UT Southwestern and B.A./B.S. from the University of Kansas . Under his scientific leadership, IPSC announced a new iPSC-derived beta islet T1D program (CNTY‑813) in Nov 2025, highlighting rapid and sustained glycemic control in preclinical models, and leveraging Allo‑Evasion 5.0 engineering and scalable bioreactor manufacturing . Company fundamentals during and around his tenure include a one‑time recognition of $109.2M collaboration revenue in Q1’25 upon BMS termination, amidst continued operating losses and cash runway into late 2026 per corporate disclosures .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clade Therapeutics | Founder & Chief Executive Officer | – Apr 2024 | Built αβ iT-cell platform; acquired by Century in Apr 2024, expanding IPSC’s preclinical pipeline . |
| Century Therapeutics | Executive Scientific Advisor | Apr 2024 – Oct 2024 | Supported integration of Clade’s αβ iT programs and platform before appointment as CSO . |
| Sana Biotechnology | Founder & Chief Scientific Officer | Jul 2018 – Oct 2019 | Led early scientific strategy for engineered cell therapies . |
| CRISPR Therapeutics | Co‑founder; Head of Research | May 2015 – May 2017 | Established foundational research agenda for gene‑edited therapeutics . |
| Harvard University & Harvard Medical School | Associate Professor | May 2006 – May 2020 | Directed Diabetes Disease Program and iPS Cell Core Facility; advanced iPSC disease modeling and gene editing . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somite AI | Board Member | Since Sep 2024 | Contributes cell biology and translational expertise to AI-driven discovery . |
| Broad Institute | Member | Prior academic tenure | Led/participated in large-scale stem cell programs (e.g., NHLBI Next Gen iPSC Project) . |
| Harvard Stem Cell Institute | Principal Faculty; Program Director | Prior academic tenure | Directed Diabetes Disease Program; advanced iPSC research infrastructure . |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- IPSC prohibits executive hedging, short sales, margin accounts, and pledging of company stock, reducing misalignment and leverage risk .
- IPSC maintains a Dodd‑Frank compliant clawback policy for Section 16 officers; excess or misconduct‑linked incentive compensation is subject to recovery up to three fiscal years .
- Beneficial ownership disclosure as of April 15, 2025 did not list Dr. Cowan individually; all directors and executive officers as a group (13 persons) owned 4,346,256 shares (5.0%) .
Employment Terms
- Appointment: Dr. Cowan was appointed CSO effective October 1, 2024; the company announced the role and background but did not disclose his specific compensation terms in the appointment press release .
- Proxy coverage: The 2025 DEF 14A Executive Compensation and Employment Agreements sections focus on NEOs (CEO, CTMO, CDO) and do not include Dr. Cowan’s employment agreement or severance/CoC terms .
Performance & Track Record
- IPSC launched CNTY‑813 (iPSC-derived beta islets) for T1D in Nov 2025, with preclinical data showing rapid reversal of diabetes and durable normoglycemia; IND‑enabling studies targeted by year‑end 2025 and potential IND in 2026 .
- Post‑Clade integration, management reprioritized the pipeline in March 2025 to focus on four programs (including autoimmune CNTY‑308) and discontinued ELiPSE‑1 in late‑stage R/R NHL, reflecting disciplined capital allocation and technical gating .
- Liquidity/cash: IPSC reported cash, cash equivalents, and investments of $132.7M (9/30/25) with a runway of at least 12 months from issuance; a one‑time $109.2M revenue recognition occurred in Q1’25 on BMS collaboration termination .
Company Operating Trend (context for CSO tenure)
| Metric | Q4 2023 | Q1 2024 | Q2 2024 | Q3 2024 | Q4 2024 | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue ($) | 268,000* | 855,000* | 771,000* | 791,000* | 4,173,000* | 109,164,000* | N/A* | N/A* |
| EBITDA ($) | (27,065,000)* | (28,083,000)* | (31,293,000)* | (31,491,000)* | (30,995,000)* | 77,397,000* | (31,463,000)* | (26,232,000)* |
Values retrieved from S&P Global.
Compensation Structure & Incentives (Company policy context)
- Compensation Committee: Independent, chaired by Carlo Rizzuto, with Radford (Aon) as external advisor; oversees executive incentives and equity plans .
- Grant practices: Regular annual grant timing (March for executives) with time‑based vesting for options (25% at 1‑year, remainder monthly over 36 months) and RSUs (25% at 1‑year, remainder quarterly over 3 years) for NEOs; similar patterns likely inform peer executive grants .
- Hedging/pledging prohibited; clawback policy active (see Equity Ownership & Alignment above) .
Risk Indicators & Red Flags
- Positive: Prohibitions on hedging/pledging and a robust clawback policy reduce misalignment and governance risk .
- Neutral/Context: Significant Q1’25 revenue was one‑time from BMS termination; ongoing operating losses and need for external capital persist, increasing execution and financing risk for long‑dated R&D milestones .
- Disclosure gap: CSO‑specific pay terms (salary, bonus targets, equity award sizes, severance/CoC) were not disclosed in 2025 proxy/related filings reviewed, limiting precision on retention economics and potential selling pressure triggers .
Investment Implications
- Alignment/retention: IPSC’s anti‑pledging policy and clawback framework are shareholder‑friendly; however, absence of CSO‑specific compensation and vesting details limits insight into near‑term selling pressure and retention risk triggers (e.g., CoC accelerations) .
- Execution leverage: Cowan’s track record (CRISPR/Sana/Harvard) and leadership in launching the new T1D program (CNTY‑813) are positives for pipeline optionality and autoimmune expansion, but milestones remain pre‑IND and capital‑dependent .
- Monitor: Future proxies/8‑Ks for Cowan’s equity award sizes, vesting schedules, and any 10b5‑1 plans; insider Form 4 activity for potential selling pressure; and clinical catalysts (CALiPSO‑1 enrollment, autoimmune programs, CNTY‑813 IND‑enabling progress) .