- Push-out Score determined
- After about five years in the position
- Accolades and praise for Neal
- Search for a successor
- Neal will remain as Chairman at Xoma
- Neal spoke at length and said 178 words
(exechange) — Emeryville, California, December 16, 2021 — Jim Neal, chief executive of Xoma, leaves his position. As announced by Xoma Corp. in a news release and in a regulatory filing published on Thursday, December 16, 2021, James R. (Jim) Neal leaves his post as chief executive officer at the biotechnology royalty aggregator, after about five years in the role, effective at the earlier of December 31, 2022 or the date that the Company hires a new Chief Executive Officer.
Xoma will undertake a search for a successor.
“The right time”
Jim Neal’s departure from the CEO post is explained as follows. Neal said: “XOMA offers an attractive opportunity for biotechnology companies to monetize the potential economics associated with their out-licensed clinical assets, which is evidenced by our deal pipeline that has increased year-over-year. Moreover, the portfolio has increased in value with over 25 advancements from one stage of clinical development to the next in the past few years. Many of these have generated milestone payments to XOMA, including the recent $35 million milestone we earned from Novartis upon its initiation of Phase 3 development for NIS793. Our balance sheet is debt free, and after receiving that Novartis milestone payment, we will have almost $100 million in cash. With this strong foundation firmly established, it is the right time for us to implement a CEO succession plan.”
Neal will remain as Chairman at Xoma
“XOMA Corporation (Nasdaq: XOMA), a biotechnology royalty aggregator playing a distinctive role in helping companies achieve their goal of improving human health, announced today the appointment of Jim Neal, Chief Executive Officer of XOMA, as Chairman of the Board,” Xoma said.
“Retire”
Xoma said: “The Company also announced Mr. Neal has communicated his intention to position XOMA for its next phase of growth and retire from his operational role as Chief Executive at such time as his successor has been appointed.”
Xoma further said: “On December 15, 2021, James R. Neal, Chief Executive Officer of XOMA Corporation (the “Company”), notified the Company of his decision to retire as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, effective at the earlier of (i) December 31, 2022 or (ii) the date that the Company hires a new Chief Executive Officer (the “Termination Date”).”
Share price decline since December 2020
The announcement follows a decline in XOMA Corp.’s share price of 36% since December 2020.
In the position of CEO since 2016
Jim Neal became CEO of the Company in 2016.
James Neal was appointed Chief Executive Officer and director in December 2016 after serving as the Company’s Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
He joined the Company in 2009 as its Vice President, Business Development.
Neal brings more than 25 years’ experience forming and maximizing business and technology collaborations globally and in bringing novel products and technologies to market.
Prior to joining XOMA, Neal was Acting Chief Executive Officer of Entelos, Inc. a leading biosimulation company.
Previously, in 2007, Entelos acquired Iconix Biosciences, a privately held company where Neal served as Chief Executive Officer and established multi-year collaborations with Bristol-Myers Squibb, Abbott Labs, Eli Lilly and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
While Executive Vice President of Incyte Genomics from 1999 to 2002, he led the global commercial activities with pharmaceutical company collaborators and partners including Pfizer, Aventis and Schering-Plough, as well as sales, marketing and business development activities for the company.
Earlier, he was associated with Monsanto Company in positions of increasing responsibility. Neal also serves on the Board of Directors of Leading Biosciences Inc.
Neal earned his B.S. in Biology and his M.S. in Genetics and Plant Breeding from the University of Manitoba, Canada, and holds an Executive MBA degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Push-out Score determined
The Push-out Score™ determined by exechange gauges the pressure surrounding Jim Neal’s move on a scale of 0 to 10.
exechange reached out to Xoma and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 51.2021 ($).