Katharine Knobil
About Katharine Knobil
Independent director since September 2022; age 61 as of April 23, 2025. MD from UT Southwestern, BA from Cornell; Pulmonary and Critical Care fellowship at Johns Hopkins. Former corporate Chief Medical Officer at GSK (2017–2018), CMO & Head of R&D at Kaleido (2018–2021), and CMO at Agilent (2021–Jan 2024). Recognized as a “Fiercest Woman in Life Sciences” (2018) and active in patient outcomes bodies (National Health Council, National Academies, PCORI). Tenure on PLRX board includes service on the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee and chairing the Research & Development Committee .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agilent Technologies | Chief Medical Officer | Apr 2021 – Jan 2024 | Senior leadership in medical governance across lab products/software |
| Kaleido Biosciences | Chief Medical Officer & Head of R&D | Dec 2018 – Jan 2021 | Led clinical-stage programs targeting the microbiome |
| GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) | Corporate Chief Medical Officer | Dec 2017 – Dec 2018 | Oversaw medical governance across pharma, vaccines, consumer; prior roles incl. SVP Value Evidence & Outcomes; EU respiratory lead; built late-stage clinical dev in China |
| GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) | Research physician, respiratory clinical dev; roles of increasing responsibility | 1997 onward (prior to above) | Clinical development leadership across geographies/therapeutic areas |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marker Therapeutics, Inc. | Director | Since Dec 2021 | Public company board service |
| Nimbus Therapeutic, LLC | Director | Since Mar 2024 | Private company board |
| Korro Bio, Inc. | Director | Since Aug 2024 | Public company board service |
| Infinant Health, Inc. | Director | Since Mar 2025 | Private company board |
| Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Former Director | Jun 2020 – Mar 2022 | Tenure ended prior to acquisition; historical public board |
| National Health Council | Board service | Prior | Patient outcomes and governance involvement |
Board Governance
- Independence: Board determined all directors except CEO Bernard Coulie to be independent under Nasdaq/SEC rules; Knobil is independent .
- Committee assignments: Member, Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee; Chair, Research & Development Committee (advisory committee to Board) .
- Attendance: In 2024, each director attended ≥75% of Board and committee meetings; directors attended the 2024 annual meeting (virtual) .
- Board leadership: Lead Independent Director is Hoyoung Huh; roles separated from CEO, reflecting governance best practice .
- Trading/hedging: Company policy prohibits hedging, pledging, short sales, and use of securities as margin collateral by directors and officers .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount | Period/Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Cash fees (total) | $55,000 | FY2024 actual |
| Board annual retainer | $40,000 | Policy, annual |
| R&D Committee – Chair retainer | $10,000 | Policy, annual |
| Nominating & Corporate Governance – Member retainer | $5,000 | Policy, annual |
Performance Compensation
| Equity Award | Grant Value | Vesting | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Annual Director Option | $229,100 | Vests in equal quarterly installments over ~1 year; fully vests by next annual meeting | Grant-date fair value (ASC 718); exercise price equals closing price on grant date |
| Initial Director Option (policy) | $500,000 (policy value) | Monthly over 3 years | Granted upon initial election/appointment; option value set using 30-day avg price |
| Annual Director Option (policy) | $250,000 (policy value) | Quarterly over 1 year | Granted at annual meeting; option value set using 30-day avg price |
| Change-in-control treatment | Full acceleration | Upon sale of company | Director initial/annual option vesting accelerates upon sale; vesting ceases upon resignation unless Board continues vesting |
No director-specific performance metrics (e.g., TSR hurdles) are disclosed; director equity is at-risk via stock price, aligning incentives with shareholders through option value realization .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Sector | Public/Private | Role/Start | Potential Interlock/Conflict Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marker Therapeutics | Biotech | Public | Director, Dec 2021 | No related-party transactions disclosed with PLRX |
| Korro Bio | Biotech | Public | Director, Aug 2024 | Monitor time commitments; no RPTs disclosed |
| Nimbus Therapeutic | Biotech | Private | Director, Mar 2024 | No RPTs disclosed |
| Infinant Health | Health | Private | Director, Mar 2025 | No RPTs disclosed |
| Arena Pharmaceuticals (former) | Biopharma | Public | Director, Jun 2020 – Mar 2022 | Historical service; no current interlocks |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Deep medical leadership across global pharma and diagnostics; CMO roles at GSK, Kaleido, Agilent .
- Clinical development, outcomes research, and medical governance expertise across multiple geographies/therapeutic areas .
- Governance involvement with national patient outcomes organizations (NHC, National Academies, PCORI) .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Beneficial Shares | Ownership % | Options Outstanding (as of 12/31/2024) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katharine Knobil | 60,739 | <1% | 70,764 options to purchase PLRX shares |
- Beneficial ownership percentages are based on 61,386,278 shares outstanding; options exercisable within 60 days are included for individual’s % per SEC rules .
Insider Trades
| Date | Form | Summary/Link |
|---|---|---|
| 06/09/2025 | Form 4 | Statement of changes in beneficial ownership (director); see filing |
| 06/17/2024 | Form 4 | Statement of changes in beneficial ownership (director); see filing |
| 09/15/2022 | Form 4 | Initial director reporting; see filing |
Company policy prohibits hedging/pledging of company stock by directors .
Governance Assessment
- Alignment: Independent director with strong R&D governance credentials; chairs R&D Committee, providing domain expertise to pipeline decisions .
- Engagement: Meets attendance thresholds and attended annual meeting; holds seats on Nominating & Corporate Governance, supporting board effectiveness and evaluations .
- Pay structure: Director compensation mix favors equity options, enhancing stockholder alignment; cash fees reflect committee responsibilities (R&D chair, Nominating member) .
- Conflicts/Related Parties: Proxy reports no related-party transactions ≥$120,000 since Jan 1, 2024; Audit Committee reviews RPTs under a formal policy .
- Risk indicators:
- Overboarding risk to monitor due to multiple external boards (Marker, Korro Bio, Nimbus, Infinant); no disclosed interlocks or transactions with PLRX but time commitment should be watched .
- Company-level governance signal: 2024 Say-on-Pay received ~45.3% support (well below prior years), indicating shareholder scrutiny of compensation oversight; not specific to Knobil but relevant to board stewardship .
- Positive controls: Hedging/pledging prohibited; clawback policy applies to officers; Audit/Nominating committees fully independent .
Appendix: Committee Responsibilities (Context)
- Nominating & Corporate Governance: Board composition, independence assessments, governance principles, evaluations, ESG oversight .
- Research & Development: Advisory oversight of R&D decisions; chaired by Knobil (no delegated decision-making authority) .
- Audit/Compensation (not Knobil): Independent oversight of financial reporting, risk, compensation policies; no indication Knobil serves on these .