Jeff Knight joins ALX Oncology (NASDAQ: ALXO) as development chief
Rhea-AI Filing Summary
ALX Oncology Holdings Inc. appointed Jeff Knight as Chief Development and Operating Officer, effective April 13, 2026. Knight is a veteran biopharmaceutical executive with more than three decades of experience in clinical development, regulatory affairs, and operational leadership at companies including Crinetics, Poseida, Halozyme, Amgen, Onyx, and Genentech.
Under his employment offer letter, Knight will receive an annual base salary of $565,000 and be eligible for an annual target cash bonus equal to 40% of base salary. He will also receive a stock option to purchase 800,000 shares of ALX Oncology common stock under the 2025 Inducement Equity Incentive Plan, vesting 25% after one year and the remainder in equal monthly installments over the following three years, subject to continued service.
He has entered into the company’s standard change of control and severance and indemnification agreements. A related press release highlighting his role in supporting upcoming clinical milestones for evorpacept and ALX2004 was furnished as an exhibit.
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8-K Event Classification
Key Figures
Key Terms
change of control and severance agreement financial
indemnification agreement regulatory
clinical-stage biotechnology company financial
EGFR-targeted antibody-drug conjugate technical
Phase 1, dose-escalation trial technical
forward-looking statements regulatory
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
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Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
Appointment of Chief Development and Operating Officer
Effective April 13, 2026, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of ALX Oncology Holdings Inc. (the “Company”) appointed Jeff Knight as Chief Development and Operating Officer.
Jeff Knight, age 55, served as the Chief Development and Operating Officer at Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a global biopharmaceutical company, from September 2021 to April 2026. From October 2018 to August 2021, Mr. Knight served as Senior Vice President, Portfolio Management and Corporate Operations at Poseida Therapeutics, Inc., where he was responsible for portfolio management and strategy, alliance management, quality and compliance, and corporate operations. From March 2017 until October 2018, he was Vice President, Development Operations and Project and Portfolio Management at Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. From July 2015 until March 2017, he served as Executive Director, Global Development Operations at Amgen Inc. and from January 2012 until July 2015, Mr. Knight served in various program and portfolio management and development operations roles at Onyx Pharmaceuticals. Prior to that, he held several leadership roles of increasing responsibility in clinical operations, regulatory affairs, and project management at Genentech, PRA International, and Hoechst Marion Roussel (now Sanofi). Mr. Knight earned a Master’s of Public Health in biostatistics and epidemiology from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and a B.A. in psychology from the University of Oklahoma. He also earned a B.S. in nursing from the University of Kansas.
There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Knight and any other persons pursuant to which he was appointed Chief Development and Operating Officer. There are no family relationships between Mr. Knight and any director or executive officer of the Company.
In connection with the appointment of Mr. Knight as the Company’s Chief Development and Operating Officer, the Company and Mr. Knight entered into an employment offer letter. Mr. Knight’s annual base salary will be $565,000, less any applicable withholdings. Mr. Knight will be eligible for an annual target cash bonus equal to 40% of his annual base salary based on achieving performance objectives established by the Board or the compensation committee of the Board. The employment letter also provides that he will be granted a stock option to purchase 800,000 shares of the Company’s common stock under the Company’s 2025 Inducement Equity Incentive Plan. The shares subject to the option are scheduled to vest as to 25% on the one-year anniversary of his start date, with an additional one forty-eighth of the shares vesting monthly thereafter, on the same day of the month as his start date, subject to his continued services to the Company through the applicable vesting date.
The foregoing descriptions of the employment offer letter does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the employment offer letter, which the Company intends to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an exhibit to a subsequent periodic report.
The Company and Mr. Knight entered into a change of control and severance agreement on the Company’s standard form, a copy of which has been filed as Exhibit 10.12 to the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K on March 9, 2026.
Mr. Knight entered into an indemnification agreement on the Company’s standard form, a copy of which was filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-239490) on June 26, 2020.
Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.
On April 13, 2026, the Company issued a press release announcing the appointment of Mr. Knight as Chief Development and Operating Officer of the Company. A copy of this press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.
The information contained in this Item 7.01, including the related information set forth in the press release attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1, is being “furnished” and shall not be deemed “filed” with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section and is not incorporated by reference into any filing of the Company under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, whether made before or after the date hereof, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits.
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99.1 |
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Press Release dated April 13, 2026 |
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
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ALX ONCOLOGY HOLDINGS INC. |
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Date: April 13, 2026 |
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By: |
/s/ Jason Lettmann |
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Jason Lettmann |
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Chief Executive Officer |
Exhibit 99.1
ALX Oncology Appoints Jeff Knight as Chief Development and Operating Officer
- Veteran biopharmaceutical and oncology leader brings more than three decades of experience across clinical development, regulatory, and operational execution
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., April 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – ALX Oncology Holdings Inc. (“ALX Oncology,” Nasdaq: ALXO), a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing a pipeline of novel therapies designed to treat cancer and extend patients’ lives, announced the appointment of Jeff Knight, M.P.H., as Chief Development and Operating Officer, effective April 13, 2026.
“Jeff is a highly accomplished leader with deep expertise across clinical development and operations, and a strong track record of both advancing innovative therapies through critical stages of growth and advancing companies of our stage through late-stage development and commercialization,” said Jason Lettmann, Chief Executive Officer at ALX Oncology. “We anticipate several important catalysts in the next 12 to 18 months with our evorpacept and ALX2004 clinical programs. Jeff’s leadership will be instrumental in strengthening our development capabilities and operational infrastructure to support high-quality execution and deliver on these upcoming milestones.”
Mr. Knight brings more than 30 years of experience across the biopharmaceutical industry, with demonstrated success advancing programs from early development through commercialization, including multiple oncology programs. Most recently, he served as Chief Development and Operating Officer at Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for clinical development, portfolio strategy, and corporate operations. Prior to joining Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Knight held senior leadership roles at Poseida Therapeutics, Halozyme Therapeutics, Amgen and Onyx Pharmaceuticals, where he led development and operational functions within these organizations. Earlier in his career, he held several roles at Genentech, gaining extensive experience in oncology clinical development and regulatory affairs.
“ALX Oncology is entering a critical phase of growth, with multiple opportunities to advance its pipeline and build a scalable organization,” said Mr. Knight. “I am incredibly excited about ALX’s clinical programs and data and look forward to working with the team to ensure strategic development and operational excellence as the company advances toward key clinical and corporate milestones.”
Mr. Knight holds a Master of Public Health in Biostatistics and Epidemiology and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Oklahoma, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Kansas.
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About ALX Oncology
ALX Oncology (Nasdaq: ALXO) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing a pipeline of novel therapies designed to treat cancer and extend patients’ lives. ALX Oncology’s lead therapeutic candidate, evorpacept, has demonstrated potential to serve as a cornerstone therapy upon which the future of immuno-oncology can be built. Evorpacept is currently being evaluated across multiple ongoing clinical trials in a wide range of cancer indications. ALX Oncology’s second pipeline candidate, ALX2004, is a novel EGFR-targeted antibody-drug conjugate with a differentiated mechanism of action. A Phase 1, dose-escalation trial of ALX2004 is ongoing in patients with EGFR-expressing solid tumors. More information is available at www.alxoncology.com and on LinkedIn @ALX Oncology.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding future results of operations and financial position, business strategy, product candidates, planned preclinical studies and clinical trials, results of clinical trials, research and development costs, regulatory approvals, timing and likelihood of success, plans and objects of management for future operations, as well as statements regarding industry trends. Such forward-looking statements are based on ALX Oncology’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to it on the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause ALX Oncology’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These and other risks are described more fully in ALX Oncology’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including ALX Oncology’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other documents ALX Oncology files with the SEC from time to time. Except to the extent required by law, ALX Oncology undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.
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Investor Relations Contact:
Elhan Webb, CFA, IR Consultant
ewebb@alxoncology.com
Media Contact:
Michele Parisi, SparkPoint Healthcare Communications
mparisi@sparkpointpr.com
(925) 864-5028