Bas van der Baan
LIXTE BIOTECHNOLOGY HOLDINGSAbout Bas van der Baan
Bas van der Baan is 54 and currently serves as Chief Scientific Officer at LIXTE. He was appointed to the Board on June 17, 2022, became President and CEO on September 26, 2023, resigned as Chairman and CEO on June 16, 2025, and resigned as President on September 1, 2025, transitioning to CSO thereafter. He holds a Master’s in Molecular Sciences from Wageningen University and has over 20 years in oncology and diagnostics, including senior roles at Agendia and co-founding several oncology ventures. Company TSR declined from $42.86 for a $100 initial investment at 2022 year-end to $19.75 in 2023 and $17.06 in 2024, while net losses were $6.31M (2022), $5.09M (2023), and $3.59M (2024); LIXTE notes it does not use TSR or net income in executive pay, emphasizing research/clinical progress, IP, budgets, and capital raising instead .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agendia (oncology molecular diagnostics) | Chief Clinical Officer | Through July 15, 2023 | Led clinical trials enabling commercialization/adoption of precision molecular oncology diagnostics . |
| Unilever (specialty chemicals division) | Early career | Started 1997 | Foundations in industry operations; division acquired (historical context) . |
| Kreatech (life science reagents) | Joined company | 2002 | Experience in gene expression/DNA/protein analysis; later acquired by Leica . |
| ThromboDx (liquid biopsy; acquired) | Co-founder | Acquired in 2016 | Liquid biopsy innovation; exit via acquisition . |
| Qameleon Therapeutics | Co-founder | Not disclosed | Developing synthetic lethal drug combinations for cancer treatment . |
| Oncosence | Co-founder | Not disclosed | Oncology drug development leveraging senescence as target . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Tethis S.p.A. (Milan, Italy) | Independent Director | Current (as disclosed) |
Fixed Compensation
| Year | Base Salary ($) | Target Bonus % | Actual Bonus ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | - | Not disclosed | - |
| 2023 | 40,639 | Not disclosed; annual bonus eligibility at Board discretion | - |
| 2024 | 153,495 | Not disclosed | - |
Performance Compensation
Option Awards (Executive)
| Grant Date | Instrument | Shares | Strike | Term | Fair Value/Share | Vesting | Acceleration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 26, 2023 | Stock Options | 250,000 | $1.95 | 5 years | $1.612 | Quarterly over 3 years, commencing last day of each quarter starting Oct 1, 2023; cashless exercise permitted | Accelerates upon early termination not due to voluntary termination/gross negligence/willful misconduct, change-in-control, or sale/licensing/disposition of substantially all assets (per award agreement) |
Director Equity Awards (Prior to CEO appointment)
| Grant Date | Instrument | Shares | Strike | Term | Vesting | Grant Fair Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 17, 2022 | Stock Options | 25,000 | $7.40 | 5 years | 50% at grant; remaining 50% vests 12.5% at each quarter-end until fully vested | $158,525 ($6.341/share) |
| June 30, 2023 | Stock Options (annual director grant) | 10,000 | $5.88 | 5 years | 12.5% at each subsequent quarter-end until fully vested | $4.8131/share; $48,464 expensed in 2023 (board-wide aggregate disclosed) |
Pay vs Performance (Company-level reference)
| Year | PEO SCT Total ($) | PEO Compensation Actually Paid ($) | TSR Value of $100 | Net Income (Loss) ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 315,640 | 315,528 | 42.86 | (6,312,535) |
| 2023 | 634,565 | 669,196 | 19.75 | (5,087,029) |
| 2024 | 153,495 | 94,461 | 17.06 | (3,585,965) |
LIXTE states its Compensation Committee does not use TSR or net income in programs, instead focusing on research program/clinical trial management, IP, budget, and capital raising to align pay with objectives .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| As of Date | Total Beneficial Ownership (Shares) | Direct Common Shares | Options (Exercisable within 60 days) | % of Class | Shares Outstanding (for reference) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 30, 2025 | 296,000 | 11,000 | 285,000 | 4.9% | 5,704,200 common; excludes 3,573,130 issuable from Series B preferred and 659,772 pre-funded warrants |
- Pledging/Hedging: No pledging disclosures identified in the proxy; award-level clawback policy applies to equity granted under the 2020 Plan .
- Option Exercises: No officer option exercises in 2022–2024, which reduces near-term forced selling signals .
- Ownership Guidelines: Not disclosed.
Employment Terms
| Term / Provision | Detail |
|---|---|
| Agreement Effective Date | September 26, 2023 |
| Role at Signing | President & CEO; also Vice Chairman of Board |
| Contract Term | 3 years; auto-renews for successive 1-year periods unless terminated with 60 days’ notice before renewal |
| Base Salary | $150,000 annually, paid monthly; with Board-discretion increases |
| Annual Bonus | Eligible at Board discretion; no target % disclosed |
| Equity Grant | 250,000 options at $1.95; 5-year term; quarterly vest over 3 years; cashless exercise allowed |
| Acceleration (Equity) | Acceleration upon early termination not resulting from voluntary termination/gross negligence/willful misconduct, change of control, or sale/licensing/disposition of substantially all assets, per award agreement |
| Benefits | While not residing in the U.S., no company-sponsored benefits beyond those required by law; upon U.S. work authorization, eligible for standard executive benefit plans (401(k), health, etc.) |
| Termination | Company may terminate for refusal/inability to perform or material breach not cured within 30 days of notice; survival limited to payment for services/expenses through termination |
| Indemnification & D&O | Indemnification to full extent of Delaware law and maintenance of D&O insurance; coordination with separate Indemnification Agreement |
| Non-Solicitation | 6 months post-termination; non-disclosure obligations included |
| Governing Law | Delaware |
Director Compensation (Prior to Executive Role)
| Year | Option Awards ($) | All Other Compensation ($) | Total ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 158,525 | 11,869 | 170,394 |
| 2023 | 48,131 | 18,478 | 66,609 |
| 2024 | - | - | - |
Board Governance
- Committee service: Served on the Audit Committee for FYE 2024 until appointment as President & CEO; Audit Committee chaired by Regina Brown at that time; subsequent committee compositions changed after director resignations .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Van der Baan holds 11,000 common shares and 285,000 options (4.9% of common), with option vesting over three years and acceleration for certain events; absence of option exercises through 2024 suggests limited historical selling pressure but ongoing quarterly vesting can create future liquidity windows .
- Pay-for-performance: Cash base is modest; equity is the primary performance-linked component via stock options. Metrics used in pay decisions emphasize operational milestones (clinical progress, IP, capital raising) rather than TSR or net income, consistent with development-stage biotech incentives .
- Retention risk and change-of-control economics: Automatic renewal structure and Board-discretion bonuses provide flexibility; equity acceleration upon change-of-control or certain terminations increases the value of strategic alternatives but can dilute post-transaction alignment if awards accelerate without performance completion; no cash severance multiple disclosed, reducing fixed exit costs .
- Governance and clawbacks: Equity awards are subject to a clawback/recoupment policy, mitigating downside governance risk from restatements/misconduct .
- Company performance context: TSR decline and persistent net losses during 2022–2024 underscore execution risk; however, compensation philosophy prioritizes clinical/IP milestones over financial outcomes, reflecting stage of development and potentially aligning management focus with value catalysts .