Peggy Scherle
About Peggy Scherle
Peggy A. Scherle, Ph.D., is Chief Scientific Officer at Prelude Therapeutics and has served in this role since April 2018; she was 63 years old as of April 16, 2025. Her background includes senior discovery and preclinical leadership at Incyte (Group VP Discovery Biology & Preclinical Pharmacology; VP Preclinical Pharmacology; Executive Director In Vitro Biology), with earlier scientific roles at DuPont Pharmaceuticals and Bristol-Myers Squibb; she holds a B.S. in Biochemistry (Michigan State University) and a Ph.D. in Immunology (University of Pennsylvania), with postdoctoral training at the NIH . Company performance under her scientific leadership has remained development-stage with minimal revenues and negative EBITDA; see Company Performance table below for context (S&P Global values where noted).
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incyte | Group Vice President, Discovery Biology & Preclinical Pharmacology | Mar 2017 – Mar 2018 | Led discovery biology and preclinical pharmacology, advancing pipeline programs |
| Incyte | Vice President, Preclinical Pharmacology | 2014 – 2017 | Built preclinical pharmacology capabilities to support development candidates |
| Incyte | Executive Director, In Vitro Biology | 2011 – 2014 | Led in vitro biology to enable target validation and SAR |
| DuPont Pharmaceuticals; Bristol-Myers Squibb | Scientific research roles | N/A | Early-career drug discovery experience |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed | — | — | No public company directorships or external governance roles disclosed |
Fixed Compensation
Not disclosed for Peggy A. Scherle. Prelude, as an emerging growth company (EGC), provides reduced executive compensation disclosure; only named executive officers (CEO, President/CMO, CFO) are reported in proxy tables .
Performance Compensation
Individual bonus payouts or award structures are not disclosed for Peggy Scherle. Company-level annual bonus metrics and payout decisions for 2023–2024 (applied to named executive officers) provide insight into performance emphasis.
| Metric (Annual Bonus Plan Inputs) | Fiscal Year | Notes on Targets/Execution | Payout Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Complete dose escalation for PRT2527 | 2024 | Corporate objective for progression of clinical program | Plan payout approved by Board based on achievement |
| IND studies for PRT7732 | 2024 | Advancement of IND-enabling work | Plan payout approved by Board based on achievement |
| Increase enrollment for PRT3789 | 2024 | Early clinical execution for SMARCA2 degrader | Plan payout approved by Board based on achievement |
| Confirm ADC lead candidate(s) | 2024 | Selection in degrader antibody conjugates research | Plan payout approved by Board based on achievement |
| Ensure compliance, budget, culture; strengthen corporate functions | 2024 | Operational and organizational goals | Plan payout approved by Board based on achievement |
| PRT1419 dose escalation; demonstrate responses to PRT2527; INDs for PRT3645 and PRT3789; compliance/budget/culture | 2023 | R&D and operational milestones | Plan payout approved Feb 2024 based on achievement |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Metric | As of Mar 31, 2024 | As of Mar 31, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Total beneficial ownership (voting common) | 629,733 shares | 776,471 shares |
| Options exercisable within 60 days (included in above) | 449,048 shares | 590,786 shares |
| Ownership % of voting common | 1.5% | 1.8% |
| Non-voting common owned | Not disclosed for Peggy | Not disclosed for Peggy |
| Shares pledged as collateral | Not disclosed; no pledging disclosure noted | Not disclosed; no pledging disclosure noted |
| Anti-hedging policy | Hedging/monetization (e.g., collars, forwards, exchange funds) prohibited for employees/officers/directors | Hedging prohibited; policy filed as Exhibit to 10-K |
| Clawback policy | SEC Rule 10D-1 compliant compensation recovery policy adopted Sept 2023 | Clawback requires recoupment of incentive comp upon restatement within 3 years |
Employment Terms
- Role and start date: Chief Scientific Officer since April 2018 .
- Indemnification: Prelude has indemnification agreements with each executive officer and director; bylaws require expense advancement to fullest extent under Delaware law .
- Insider trading/hedging: Company-wide policy prohibits hedging/monetization transactions and exchange funds involving Prelude stock .
- Clawback: Board-adopted policy mandates recovery of incentive-based compensation in case of material restatements per SEC Rule 10D-1 .
- Severance/change-in-control: Detailed severance and accelerated vesting terms are disclosed for named executives (CEO, President/CMO, CFO); Peggy Scherle’s specific severance/CIC terms are not disclosed .
Performance & Track Record
- Scientific leadership highlights
- Led preclinical and clinical advancement of first-in-human SMARCA2 degrader PRT3789; mechanism and clinical selectivity presented at AACR 2025 .
- Advanced discovery of first-in-class, highly selective oral KAT6A degraders with preclinical efficacy and potential safety differentiation (lower neutropenia), targeting ER+ breast cancer; IND on track for mid-2026 .
- Myeloproliferative neoplasm programs: discovery of JAK2V617F-selective JH2 allosteric inhibitors with mutant-specific inhibition; CALR-targeted DACs leveraging proprietary degrader payloads .
- Company Performance (context during tenure)
| Metric | Q4 2024 | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues (USD) | $4.0M* | — | — | $6.5M |
| EBITDA (USD) | -$33.342M* | -$34.171M* | -$31.761M* | -$19.993M* |
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues (USD) | — | — | $7.0M |
| EBITDA (USD) | -$122.216M* | -$131.108M* | -$137.942M* |
Values marked with * retrieved from S&P Global.
Compensation Committee & Governance Context
- Compensation Committee: Independent directors (Chair: David P. Bonita), authority over executive pay; engaged Compensia as independent consultant to review peer data and market practices for base salary, bonus, and equity programs .
- EGC/Smaller Reporting Company: Reduced executive compensation disclosures; no advisory “say-on-pay” vote requirement .
- Authorized share increase: 2025 proposal approved to increase authorized non-voting common to 112,850,259 and total common to 600,000,000, enabling financing flexibility and potential dilution; certificate of amendment executed June 12, 2025 .
Investment Implications
- Alignment and retention: Scherle’s substantial beneficial ownership (1.8% of voting common as of Mar 31, 2025, with 590,786 options currently exercisable) indicates material skin-in-the-game and alignment with shareholders; no pledging or hedging permitted under policy, and clawback strengthens governance .
- Pay-for-performance transparency: Individual compensation metrics, payouts, severance/CIC economics are not disclosed for Peggy due to EGC status; investors should monitor future proxies/8-Ks for any Form 5.02 changes or additional disclosure .
- Execution signals: Public R&D milestones and her leadership quotes point to advancing first-in-class platforms (SMARCA2, KAT6A, JAK2V617F, mCALR DACs), which are key value creation levers; successful IND/clinical readouts are likely catalysts .
- Trading/pressure: Options exercisable and ongoing equity grant practices across the company suggest potential periodic selling windows; absence of pledging and presence of anti-hedging reduce misalignment risks. Watch for insider Form 4 filings around vest/exercise dates and financing events.
- Broader risk: Persistent negative EBITDA and increased authorized shares imply continued capital needs and dilution risk until clinical inflection points are reached; governance framework (Compensia, clawback, anti-hedging) mitigates some agency concerns .