Abeona Therapeutics Fires CEO Over Allegations of Misconduct

Shares of Abeona Therapeutics are down more than 8 percent this morning after the company fired Chief Executive Officer Carsten Thiel due to personal misconduct. João Siffert, Abeona’s chief medical officer, has been named interim CEO.

Abeona said Thiel’s termination followed an investigation by the board of directors and external counsel of allegations of “misconduct towards colleagues.” The company said this misconduct violated its Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, but it did not provide any information as to whether or not Thiel’s conduct was related to sexual harassment. Abeona was quick to point out that Thiel’s termination was not related to finances, company operations or clinical programs. Nor was his termination due to any disagreement over the management of financial reporting, scientific data or other practices, the company said.

Abeona has formed a search committee to identify a permanent successor to Thiel. Its search will be assisted by an unnamed executive search firm.

Steven H. Rouhandeh, Executive Chairman of the Abeona Board of Directors, said Abeona expects all employees, regardless of their level of seniority or responsibility, to “conduct themselves ethically and in accordance with company policies.” Rouhandeh said the company is committed to ensuring an environment of “respect, integrity and ethical conduct.” He added that the board is confident in the Siffert’s leadership as “João’s deep expertise in drug development and gene therapy will ensure that the company continues operating effectively without interruption.”

Siffert assumed the role of CMO and head of research at Abeona in October. He came to Abeona from Nestle Health Science, where he served as Chief Scientific and Medical Officer. He serves on the board of directors of Novartis subsidiary AveXis, a gene therapy company.

Siffert isn’t the only new executive at the company. On Monday, Edward Carr joined Abeona as Controller. He will serve as the company’s principal accounting officer and replaces Stephen Thompson, who will retire from the company at the end of the year. In July, Max Colao joined the company as chief commercial officer. Colao joined the company from Alexion Pharmaceuticals, where he served as the head of U.S. commercial operations.

For Abeona, Thiel’s dismissal comes weeks after the company struck a licensing deal with Maryland-based REGENXBIO for that company’s NAV AAV9 vector for the treatment of four diseases: Sanfilippo syndrome type A (MPS IIIA), Sanfilippo syndrome type B (MPS IIIB), Infantile Batten Disease, also known as neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 1 (CLN1 Disease), and Juvenile Batten Disease, also known as neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis type 3 (CLN3 Disease).

Shares of Abeona are trading at $7.79 as of 10:56 a.m.