Alise Reicin
About Alise S. Reicin, M.D.
Alise S. Reicin, M.D. (age 64) is an independent director of Sana Biotechnology, serving since December 2020; her current term expires at the 2026 annual meeting . She is President and CEO of Tectonic Therapeutic, Inc. (public biotech) since August 2020 and previously led global clinical development at Celgene (2018–2019), EMD Serono (2015–2018), and held senior oncology leadership roles at Merck; she trained and practiced at Columbia and holds an M.D. from Harvard Medical School and a B.A. in Biochemistry from Barnard College .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Celgene | President, Global Clinical Development | Nov 2018 – Dec 2019 | Led global clinical development |
| EMD Serono | Head of Global Clinical Development | May 2015 – Oct 2018 | Led clinical development function |
| Merck | VP, Program & Pipeline Leadership, Oncology | Prior to 2015 (dates not further specified) | Oncology program leadership |
| Columbia Presbyterian Hospital / Columbia Medical School | Physician/Researcher; Faculty | Prior period (dates not specified) | Academic medicine/research |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tectonic Therapeutic, Inc. | President & CEO; Director | Current | Public biotech; CEO since Aug 2020 |
| Immatics N.V. | Director | Current | Public biopharma (Germany) |
| Homology Medicines, Inc. | Director | Former | Public during her service |
Board Governance
- Independence: The board determined all current directors except the CEO (Harr) and former employee VP (Mulligan) are independent under Nasdaq rules; Dr. Reicin is independent .
- Committee assignments (2024): Compensation and Talent Committee member (not chair) .
- Attendance: In 2024, the board held 5 meetings; compensation 6; audit 4; nom/gov 3. Each incumbent director attended at least 75% of the total board and committee meetings on which they served, except Dr. Bilenker for nom/gov; no exception for Dr. Reicin is noted, implying she met the threshold .
- Structure: The Chair (Bishop) is separate from the CEO; independent directors meet in executive session at least quarterly .
Fixed Compensation (Non‑Employee Director Pay – 2024)
| Component | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer | $40,000 | Standard non‑employee director retainer |
| Committee member fee (Compensation Committee) | $7,500 | Member (not chair) |
| Cash fees actually paid (2024) | $47,500 | Matches reported “Fees Earned or Paid in Cash” |
Performance Compensation (Equity for Directors)
| Grant/Policy | Detail |
|---|---|
| Annual option grant (2024) | 65,000 options granted on June 6, 2024; vests on the earlier of June 6, 2025 or immediately prior to the 2025 annual meeting, subject to service |
| 2024 option grant fair value | $330,798 (ASC 718) |
| Director equity program | Initial grant sized at $750k Black‑Scholes (cap 115k sh); annual grant sized at $425k Black‑Scholes (cap increased from 65k to 80k shares effective Feb 27, 2025); acceleration on change in control |
Implication: Her 2024 director pay is predominantly equity-based ($330,798 options vs $47,500 cash), aligning incentives to shareholder value via time‑vested options rather than performance metrics .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
- Compensation Committee interlocks: None reported; none of Sana’s executive officers served on another company’s board/comp committee that also had a Sana director or comp committee member serving as an executive (past three years) .
- Related‑party/transactions: No related‑party transactions disclosed involving Dr. Reicin; the disclosed transactions predominantly relate to certain significant shareholders/other directors (e.g., ARCH/Beam), not her .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Clinical development leadership across large-cap and mid-cap biopharma (Celgene, Merck, EMD Serono) and CEO experience at a public biotech (Tectonic), bringing drug development, oncology, and regulatory insight to Sana’s board .
- Academic and medical training: Harvard Medical School (M.D.); prior physician/researcher at Columbia/Columbia Presbyterian .
Equity Ownership
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total beneficial ownership | <1% of shares outstanding |
| Form of ownership | 235,545 shares issuable upon exercise of stock options exercisable within 60 days of March 31, 2025 (no directly owned common shares listed in table) |
| Options outstanding (12/31/2024) | 300,545 options outstanding (director total) |
| Hedging/Pledging | Company policy prohibits hedging and pledging of company securities by directors/officers/employees |
| Ownership guidelines | No explicit director stock ownership guidelines disclosed; company notes it continues to evaluate equity ownership guidelines/holding periods (discussed for executives) |
Governance Assessment
- Board effectiveness: Independent, experienced operator/clinician with current CEO role adds drug development and clinical risk assessment expertise to the Compensation and Talent Committee—valuable for human capital oversight and incentive alignment in R&D-centric organizations .
- Independence and attendance: Independent under Nasdaq rules and met attendance expectations in 2024; supports investor confidence in oversight rigor .
- Alignment and incentives: Director compensation heavily equity‑weighted (time‑vested options), reasonably aligning with shareholder outcomes; cash fees align with disclosed program (base plus committee member fee) .
- Conflicts and related‑party exposure: No related‑party transactions disclosed related to Dr. Reicin; hedging/pledging prohibited, lowering alignment risk. Compensation Committee interlock risk explicitly addressed as none .
- RED FLAGS: None specifically identified for Dr. Reicin. Note that the annual director option share cap increased from 65,000 to 80,000 effective Feb 27, 2025 (grant size still value‑based at $425k); investors may monitor year‑over‑year equity grant values for pay‑inflation risk, though the program remains value‑denominated .