Christian Elze

About Christian Elze

Christian Elze (age 68) is a director nominee to Protalix BioTherapeutics’ board (nominated April 2025). He founded Catenion GmbH, a global biopharma strategy consultancy, in 2003; retired from full-time in 2023 and continues as Senior Partner Emeritus and shareholder. He serves on Recordati’s Scientific Advisory Board (since Jan 2024), is a board observer at Pangea Biomed, co-founded the Japanese Foundation for Rare Disease Research (Councillor), and is a director of Zita Elze Flowers Ltd. He holds an MBA from Columbia University and a B.Sc. in Economics from the London School of Economics .

Past Roles

External Roles

Board Governance

• Status: Director nominee; not part of 2024 board or committees. Independence determination listed in the proxy covers current non-employee directors (Forster, Bar Shalev, Ben Zvi, Boudes, Melincoff, Schwartz) and does not include Elze; independence assessment post-election is not disclosed .
• Committee structure and chairs (2024): Audit & Finance (Chair: Shmuel “Muli” Ben Zvi; members: Ben Zvi, Bar Shalev, Schwartz), Compensation (Chair: Bar Shalev; members: Bar Shalev, Ben Zvi, Schwartz), Nominating (Chair: Bar Shalev; members: Bar Shalev, Forster, Schwartz) .
• Audit & Finance Committee members are independent and all three qualify as “audit committee financial experts” under SEC rules .
• Board leadership: Independent Chair separate from CEO (Chair: Dr. Forster); non‑management directors hold formal meetings at least twice per year .
• Attendance baseline: In 2024, all then‑current directors attended at least 75% of aggregate board and committee meetings; the nominating committee did not meet in 2024 .

Fixed Compensation

• Elze received no PLX director compensation in 2024 (he was not yet on the board) .
• PLX 2024 non‑employee director compensation (for context):

Notes: The $1,350 to Dr. Boudes reflects occasional consulting on BD/licensing approved by the Audit & Finance Committee .

Performance Compensation

• Equity grants to non‑employee directors in 2024: none disclosed; option award column is “—” for all directors; no stock awards shown .

Other Directorships & Interlocks

Expertise & Qualifications

• 30+ years in global biopharma strategy; founder of a science‑driven consultancy serving the industry .
• Education: MBA (Columbia University); B.Sc. Economics (London School of Economics) .
• External scientific advisory and observer roles at Recordati and Pangea Biomed reinforce therapeutic and translational strategy insight .

Equity Ownership

• Anti‑hedging/pledging alignment policy: PLX prohibits directors and officers from pledging company securities, short sales, buying or selling puts/calls, or engaging in other hedging/derivative transactions; also restricts trading during blackout periods and requires 10b5‑1 plans for pre‑planned trades .

Governance Assessment

• Positives

  • Deep biopharma strategy pedigree (Catenion founder), current SAB/observer roles, and top‑tier academic credentials should strengthen board strategic deliberations, especially around pipeline and partnerships .
  • Board structures and practices provide a solid governance baseline: independent Chair, independent and financially expert Audit & Finance Committee, regular executive sessions .
  • Company‑level anti‑hedging and anti‑pledging policy enhances alignment safeguards for all directors/officers .

• Risk indicators / RED FLAGS

  • Related‑party exposure: PLX paid ~$1.4 million to Catenion for consulting services in 2023–2024; Elze is founder, Senior Partner Emeritus, and a shareholder. Although PLX states no professional relationship with Elze personally at the time of engagement, this creates a perceived conflict and could impair independence if similar engagements continue post‑election. Audit & Finance Committee reviews related‑party transactions .
  • Independence status not yet designated for Elze in the proxy; independence determinations listed exclude him, pending election and board review .
  • Ownership alignment: no reported beneficial ownership as of April 30, 2025; absent a director equity grant policy, alignment may rely solely on company‑level trading/hedging restrictions .
  • Director pay mix trend: 2024 non‑employee director compensation was entirely cash for all directors (no equity awards), which can weaken long‑term alignment versus equity‑based retainers common in biotech governance .

• Monitoring items for investors

  • Post‑election committee placement (e.g., strategy/science vs. audit/comp) and any updates to the board’s independence determination for Elze .
  • Any continuation or expansion of PLX’s engagements with Catenion (or entities where Elze has a financial interest), and whether such transactions are curtailed or structured to mitigate conflicts (e.g., recusal, competitive bidding) .
  • Future director equity grants or adoption of director ownership guidelines to bolster alignment, and disclosure in subsequent proxies .

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