Vaxart Appoints Jeroen Grasman as Chief Financial Officer

Rhea-AI Summary

Vaxart (NASDAQ: VXRT) has appointed Jeroen Grasman as its new Chief Financial Officer, effective May 19, 2025. Grasman, who brings over 20 years of biotech financial leadership experience, succeeds Phillip Lee, who is stepping down for personal reasons. Lee will remain with the company as a non-executive employee through June 1, 2025, to ensure a smooth transition.

Grasman most recently served as CFO at AltruBio from 2021 to 2025, where he led finance and operations for global clinical studies. His previous roles include VP of Finance and Operations at PACT Pharma, VP of Finance at Intarcia Therapeutics, and a 10-year tenure at Genentech. He holds an MSc in Applied Mathematics from Groningen University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Positive

• Appointment of experienced CFO with over 20 years of biotech financial leadership
• Smooth transition period planned with outgoing CFO remaining until June 1, 2025
• New CFO brings relevant experience in scaling companies for global clinical studies

Negative

• Unexpected departure of current CFO Phillip Lee for personal reasons

- Mr. Grasman brings over two decades of biotech financial leadership experience -

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vaxart, Inc. (Nasdaq: VXRT) today announced the appointment of Jeroen Grasman as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective May 19, 2025. Mr. Grasman succeeds Phillip Lee, who is resigning from his position as CFO for personal reasons. To ensure a smooth transition, Mr. Lee will remain with the Company as a non-executive employee through June 1, 2025.

“We are delighted to welcome Jeroen to the Vaxart team,” said Steven Lo, Chief Executive Officer of Vaxart. “His extensive financial expertise and proven track record in the biotech sector, including his operational acumen and clinical development support, will be invaluable as we continue to advance our oral pill vaccine programs. We look forward to his contributions.”

Mr. Lo added, "We thank Phil for his dedication and service to Vaxart. He has played an important role in our progress, and we appreciate his commitment to ensuring a seamless transition.”

Mr. Grasman brings more than 20 years of financial leadership experience in the biotechnology industry. He most recently served as Chief Financial Officer at AltruBio, a clinical-stage private biotech company, from August 2021 to May 2025. During his tenure at AltruBio, Mr. Grasman led finance and operations and helped scale the company for global clinical studies. Before that, Mr. Grasman served as Vice President, Finance and Operations at PACT Pharma, a clinical-stage private biotech company. Prior to joining PACT Pharma, Mr. Grasman served as Vice President, Finance at Intarcia Therapeutics and before that spent more than 10 years at Genentech. Mr. Grasman earned a MSc in Applied Mathematics from Groningen University in the Netherlands and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

“I am excited to join Vaxart as the Company pioneers vaccination in an oral pill formulation,” said Mr. Grasman. “Vaxart’s innovative technology platform holds significant promise, and I look forward to working with the team to drive its continued development towards an accessible, effective, and convenient immunization solution for people around the world.”

About Vaxart
Vaxart is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a range of oral recombinant vaccines based on its proprietary delivery platform. Vaxart vaccines are designed to be administered using pills that can be stored and shipped without refrigeration and eliminate the risk of needle-stick injury. Vaxart believes that its proprietary pill vaccine delivery platform is suitable to deliver recombinant vaccines, positioning the company to develop oral versions of currently marketed vaccines and to design recombinant vaccines for new indications. Vaxart’s development programs currently include pill vaccines designed to protect against coronavirus, norovirus and influenza, as well as a therapeutic vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV), Vaxart’s first immune-oncology indication. Vaxart has filed broad domestic and international patent applications covering its proprietary technology and creations for oral vaccination using adenovirus and TLR3 agonists.

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release regarding Vaxart's strategy, prospects, plans and objectives, funding milestones, the results of the FDA’s review of any trials, studies, or data, results from clinical trials and the timing of such results and such trials, commercialization agreements and licenses, and beliefs and expectations of management are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements may be accompanied by such words as “should,” “believe,” “could,” “potential,” “will,” “expected,” “anticipate,” “plan,” and other words and terms of similar meaning. Examples of such statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to Vaxart’s ability to complete the Phase 1 trial of its oral bivalent norovirus vaccine; Vaxart's ability to develop and commercialize its product candidates, including its vaccine booster products; Vaxart's expectations regarding clinical results and trial data, including their design, and the timing of such trials and of receiving and reporting such clinical results and trial data; Vaxart’s expectations regarding timing of enrollment in studies; and Vaxart's expectations with respect to the effectiveness of its product candidates and the potential of its vaccine pill platform. Vaxart may not actually achieve the plans, carry out the intentions, or meet the expectations or projections disclosed in the forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions, expectations, and projections disclosed in the forward-looking statements. Various important factors could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements that Vaxart makes, including uncertainties inherent in research and development, including the ability to meet anticipated clinical endpoints, commencement, and/or completion dates for clinical trials, regulatory submission dates, regulatory approval dates, and/or launch dates, as well as the possibility of unfavorable new clinical data and further analyses of existing clinical data; the risk that clinical trial data are subject to differing interpretations and assessments by regulatory authorities; whether regulatory authorities will be satisfied with the design of and results from the clinical studies; decisions by regulatory authorities impacting labeling, manufacturing processes, and safety that could affect the availability or commercial potential of any product candidate, including the possibility that Vaxart's product candidates may not be approved by the FDA or non-U.S. regulatory authorities; that, even if approved by the FDA or non-U.S. regulatory authorities, Vaxart's product candidates may not achieve broad market acceptance; that a Vaxart collaborator may not attain development and commercial milestones; that Vaxart or its partners may experience manufacturing issues and delays due to events within, or outside of, Vaxart's or its partners' control; difficulties in production, particularly in scaling up initial production, including difficulties with production costs and yields, quality control, including stability of the product candidate and quality assurance testing, shortages of qualified personnel or key raw materials, and compliance with strictly enforced federal, state, and foreign regulations; that Vaxart may not be able to obtain, maintain, and enforce necessary patent and other intellectual property protection; that Vaxart's capital resources may be inadequate; Vaxart's ability to resolve pending legal matters; Vaxart's ability to obtain sufficient capital to fund its operations on terms acceptable to Vaxart, if at all; the impact of government healthcare proposals and policies; competitive factors; and other risks described in the "Risk Factors" sections of Vaxart's Quarterly and Annual Reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Vaxart does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Contact

Vaxart Media and Investor Relations        
Matt Steinberg
FINN Partners
IR@vaxart.com
(646) 871-8481

This press release was published by a CLEAR® Verified individual.

FAQ

Who is the new CFO of Vaxart (VXRT) and when does he start?

Jeroen Grasman is Vaxart's new CFO, starting May 19, 2025. He brings over 20 years of biotech financial leadership experience.

What is Jeroen Grasman's previous work experience before joining Vaxart (VXRT)?

Grasman was previously CFO at AltruBio (2021-2025), VP of Finance and Operations at PACT Pharma, VP of Finance at Intarcia Therapeutics, and spent over 10 years at Genentech.

Why is Vaxart's (VXRT) current CFO Phillip Lee leaving?

Phillip Lee is resigning from his position as CFO for personal reasons. He will remain with the company as a non-executive employee through June 1, 2025, to ensure a smooth transition.

What are Jeroen Grasman's educational qualifications?

Grasman holds an MSc in Applied Mathematics from Groningen University in the Netherlands and an MBA from Harvard Business School.