SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Alpine Immune Sciences, a leading clinical-stage immunotherapy company focused on developing innovative treatments for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, today announced the appointment of Wolfgang Dummer, M.D., Ph.D., to Chief Medical Officer effective October 2, 2023. He succeeds Andrew Sandler, M.D., who will transition responsibilities to Dr. Dummer through the remainder of the year.
“Wolfgang is a highly accomplished drug developer with deep expertise in rare disease, immunology, and immunotherapy. His experience working across all phases of clinical development through regulatory approval will be important as we continue to advance our pipeline of new therapies for patients living with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases,” said Mitchell H. Gold M.D., Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We thank Andy for his leadership and significant contributions during his tenure at Alpine. He has been an important and valuable member of the Alpine executive team as we have evolved our development efforts over the last year to focus on helping patients suffering from autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.”
Dr. Dummer brings over 20 years of global drug development leadership experience and has led the development of multiple drug approvals in immunology and rare diseases. He joins Alpine from Rigel Pharmaceuticals, where he served as Chief Medical Officer. Prior to his time at Rigel, Dr. Dummer served as Vice President of Clinical Development at BioMarin, and previously held various roles of increasing responsibility at Genentech where he was Global Development Leader for ocrelizumab and rituximab, overseeing development in rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and lupus nephritis. Dr. Dummer completed his medical training in Germany, including an M.D. and Ph.D. in Medical Science from the Technical University of Munich and subsequent board certification in allergy/immunology and dermatology.
“I am excited to join Alpine during this transformational time to help advance a robust immunology pipeline, including the development of povetacicept which has a broad pipeline potential across a number of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases,” said Dr. Dummer. “I look forward to working with the Alpine team as we position the company for its next phase of development.”
In conjunction with his employment, effective October 2, 2023, Dr. Dummer has been granted an option to purchase 200,000 shares of common stock. The option will vest with respect to 25% of the shares underlying the option on the one-year anniversary of his employment start date with the Company; the remaining 75% of the shares underlying the option will vest in equal monthly installments over the 36-month period following the one-year anniversary of Dr. Dummer’s employment start date, subject to his continued service to Alpine through each relevant vesting date.
In addition, pursuant to the terms of Alpine’s change of control and severance policy, if there is a change of control and, upon or during the 12 months after the change of control, Dr. Dummer’s employment is terminated either (i) by Alpine without cause or (ii) by Dr. Dummer for good reason, the option will become fully vested and exercisable. The option has a ten-year term and an exercise price of $11.37, equal to the per share closing price of Alpine’s common stock as reported by Nasdaq on October 2, 2023. The stock options were granted outside Alpine’s 2018 Equity Incentive Plan as an inducement material to Dr. Dummer entering into employment with Alpine in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The terms and conditions of the option are generally consistent with those in Alpine’s 2018 Equity Incentive Plan.
About Alpine Immune Sciences
Alpine Immune Sciences is committed to leading a new wave of immune therapeutics. With world-class research and development capabilities, a highly productive scientific platform, and a proven management team, Alpine is seeking to create first- or best-in-class multifunctional immunotherapies via unique protein engineering technologies to improve patients’ lives. Alpine has entered into strategic collaborations with leading global biopharmaceutical companies and has a diverse pipeline of clinical and preclinical candidates in development. For more information, visit www.alpineimmunesciences.com. Follow @AlpineImmuneSci on Twitter and LinkedIn.