- After almost seven years in the position
- Accolades, praise and thanks for Lurker
- Jay Duker taking over
- Lurker will remain as Executive Vice Chair at EyePoint
- Lurker made a lengthy statement and said 257 words
(exechange) — Watertown, Massachusetts, July 10, 2023 — Nancy Lurker, chief executive of EyePoint, leaves her position. As announced by EyePoint Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a news release and in a regulatory filing published on Monday, July 10, 2023, Nancy S. Lurker leaves her post as chief executive officer at the pharmaceutical company, after almost seven years in the role, effective immediately.
Nancy Lurker’s duties as CEO will be taken over by Jay S. Duker, most recently Chief Operating Officer and President at EyePoint Pharmaceuticals Inc.
“This is the right time”
The management change is explained as follows. Lurker stated: “With the transformation of EyePoint into a pure play drug development company, a compelling clinical pipeline, and recent financial and clinical achievements that put EyePoint in a position of strength, this is the right time to move into a new role.”
Lurker will remain as Executive Vice Chair at EyePoint
EyePoint stated: “Nancy S. Lurker has transitioned to the role of Executive Vice Chair of the Board of Directors from the position of CEO.”
“Transitioned”
EyePoint said: “Effective as of July 10, 2023 (the “Lurker Transition Date”), Nancy S. Lurker transitioned from her role as Chief Executive Officer of EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company”) to Executive Vice Chair of the Company.”
Share price decline since July 2018
The announcement follows a decline in EyePoint Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s share price of 62% since July 2018.
In the position of CEO since 2016
Nancy Lurker became CEO of the Company in 2016.
Lurker has been the Company’s Chief Executive Officer since September 2016 and served as the Company’s President from September 2016 to January 2023.
From 2008 to 2015, Lurker served as President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of PDI, Inc., a Nasdaq-listed healthcare commercialization company now named Interpace Diagnostics Group, Inc.
From 2006 to 2007, Lurker was Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, the U.S. subsidiary of Novartis AG. From 2003 to 2006, she served as President and Chief Executive Officer of ImpactRx, Inc., a privately held healthcare information company.
From 1998 to 2003, Lurker served as Group Vice President, Global Primary Care Products and Vice President, General Therapeutics for Pharmacia Corporation (Pharmacia), now a part of Pfizer, Inc. She also served as a member of Pharmacia’s U.S. executive management committee.
Previously, Lurker spent 14 years at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, rising from a sales representative to Senior Director, Worldwide Cardiovascular Franchise Management.
Since April 2018, Lurker currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Aquestive Therapeutics (Nasdaq: AQST), a Nasdaq-listed company.
Since April 2021, Lurker has served as a member of the board of directors of Altasciences (a private company in Canada).
Lurker previously served as a member of the board of directors of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America. Lurker also previously served as Chair of the board of directors of X4 Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: XFOR) from 2016 to 2018, and as a member of the boards of directors of publicly held Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 2011 to 2015, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, plc from 2013 to 2016, Elan Pharmaceuticals from 2005-2006, Conjuchem Biotechnologies from 2004-2006 in addition to serving as a director of PDI, Inc. from 2008 to 2015.
Lurker received a B.S. in Biology from Seattle Pacific University and an M.B.A. from the University of Evansville.
257 words by Nancy Lurker
In the news release announcing her departure as CEO of EyePoint Pharmaceuticals Inc., Nancy Lurker received accolades, praise and thanks.
In announcing her departure, Nancy Lurker made a lengthy statement and said 257 words.
“Position of strength”
Nancy Lurker stated: “Serving as CEO of EyePoint Pharmaceuticals these past seven years has been an exciting journey, and I am immensely proud of what our team has accomplished to create a brighter future for patients at risk of losing their sight. It has been a privilege to lead the growth of EyePoint into a best-in-class leader in sustained ocular drug delivery, advancing first-in-class therapeutics. We have accomplished a tremendous amount of value enhancing catalysts over the last several years including the advancement of EYPT-1901 into two oversubscribed Phase 2 trials, revenue growth for YUTIQ culminating in a successful sale of commercial rights to YUTIQ, and the significant strengthening of our balance sheet. With the transformation of EyePoint into a pure play drug development company, a compelling clinical pipeline, and recent financial and clinical achievements that put EyePoint in a position of strength, this is the right time to move into a new role. I have never been more excited about our potential and am deeply confident in the Company’s future under Jay’s leadership. Jay has been a tremendous partner and instrumental leader in his role as COO, helping to strengthen our organization as we progressed our pipeline of exciting and innovative ocular products, including reporting positive data for our Phase 1 DAVIO trial in wet AMD and the initiation of two Phase 2 trials for EYP-1901, our Phase 2 DAVIO2 trial in wet AMD and PAVIA trial in NPDR. I look forward to working with him as I continue my commitment to EyePoint as Executive Vice-Chair of the Board.”
40% of CEOs are forced out or fired
When CEO departures are announced, exechange determines the Push-out Score on a scale of 0 to 10 to assess how likely it is that the chief executive was pushed out or felt pressure to leave the position, with 0 being most likely a voluntary move and 10 being most likely a forced exit. Anything over a 5 indicates that there are valid reasons to believe an executive may have been pushed out.
Of the 313 CEO departures in the Russell 3000 Index evaluated over the past 12 months (July 10, 2022, to July 9, 2023), the average Push-out Score was 6.1, according to exechange data. References to conduct issues, disagreements and irregularities lead to the highest Push-out Scores. When performance issues, time with family or pursuit of other opportunities were cited as departure reasons, the average Push-out Scores were also significantly elevated.
Around 40% of the CEO departure events from the past 12 months received Push-out Scores of 8 or higher.
In other words, in the past 12 months, two in five departing CEOs were forced out or fired.
Closer look at female CEOs
Female CEOs in the U.S. have been found to be more likely to be pushed out than male CEOs. Over the past 12 months, outgoing female CEOs have received an average Push-out Score of 6.5, slightly above the average Push-out Score of 6.1 for outgoing male CEOs.
Female CEOs have a 43% shorter tenure. Women in the role step down after an average tenure of 4.7 years, compared with 8.2 years for men, the exechange data shows, which covers 24 departing female CEOs and 289 departing male CEOs.
On a five-year view, departing female CEOs received an average Push-out Score of 5.8, which was significantly higher than the average Push-out Score of 5.3 for departing male CEOs. This suggests that women were more likely to be pushed out than men, even when using a longer observation period. This is evident from exechange data covering 1,403 CEO departures (84 of them women and 1,319 men) from 2017 to 2021. Female CEOs who announced their departure from 2017 to 2021 had a 26% shorter tenure, exiting after an average of 6.6 years, compared with 8.9 years for men, the exechange data shows.
Push-out Score for Nancy Lurker’s move determined
The Push-out Score regarding Nancy Lurker’s move is explained point by point in the exechange report.
exechange reached out to EyePoint and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 29.2023 ($).