WALTHAM, Mass. and BOULDER, Colo., May 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cogent Biosciences, a biotechnology company focused on developing precision therapies for genetically defined diseases, today announced the appointment of Cole Pinnow as Chief Commercial Officer. Mr. Pinnow is a leader in the biopharmaceutical industry with an impressive track record in commercial strategy, including several successful product launches. At Cogent, he will be responsible for building and leading the commercial team including sales, marketing, access, and commercial operations. A key priority will be preparing the company for the potential commercial launch of bezuclastinib, for patients with systemic mastocytosis (SM) or Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GIST).
“We are thrilled to welcome Cole to our leadership team, as we begin preparations for commercializing bezuclastinib, a product we believe has clear potential to become a standard of care treatment for patients with systemic mastocytosis and advanced GIST,” said Andrew Robbins, the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Cole’s broad commercial knowledge and leadership experience will be invaluable in helping Cogent expand from a research and development company to a fully-integrated commercial organization.”
“I have been impressed with Cogent’s rapid progress developing bezuclastinib in multiple patient populations,” said Mr. Pinnow. “I look forward to building a capable commercial team ahead of Cogent’s first potential product launch, and to working across the organization to help bring bezuclastinib to patients.”
Mr. Pinnow has 25 years of global and U.S. commercial experience, including multiple product launches as well as new product planning, sales and acquisitions. Mr. Pinnow joins Cogent from Pfizer, where he has held increasing roles of responsibility, including President and Managing Director of Pfizer Canada and most recently as Global Franchise Lead, Genitourinary and Breast Cancer Business where he led a global commercial team accountable for the growth of a $5B innovative cancer portfolio in prostate, kidney, bladder and breast therapies. Prior to Pfizer, he held several leadership roles with Hospira and founded the company’s commercial development organization. Mr. Pinnow began his pharmaceutical career as a scientist at Abbott Laboratories.
Mr. Pinnow holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from St. Olaf College in Minnesota and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Management as well as a Master of Sciences degree in Microbiology from Iowa State University.
Inducement Equity Award
In connection with Mr. Pinnow’s appointment, Cogent is granting Mr. Pinnow “inducement” equity awards in accordance with Listing Rule 5635(c)(4) of the corporate governance rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market. These awards were approved by the Compensation Committee of Cogent’s Board of Directors, made up entirely of independent directors, as an inducement material to Mr. Pinnow entering into employment with Cogent. The awards consist of (i) nonqualified options to purchase 525,000 shares of Cogent common stock with a 10-year term, an exercise price equal to the closing price of Cogent’s common stock on the first day of Mr. Pinnow’s employment, and a 4-year vesting schedule with 25% vesting on the 1-year anniversary of the grant date and the remainder vesting in equal monthly installments over the subsequent 36 months, and (ii) up to 214,000 performance-based restricted stock units that are part of a performance equity program that the Cogent executive team participates in and is eligible to vest, if at all, in February 2026 based upon the achievement of specified stock price hurdles and/or research and development milestones during the performance period.
About Cogent Biosciences, Inc.
Cogent Biosciences is a biotechnology company focused on developing precision therapies for genetically defined diseases. The most advanced clinical program, bezuclastinib, is a selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is designed to potently inhibit the KIT D816V mutation as well as other mutations in KIT exon 17. KIT D816V is responsible for driving systemic mastocytosis, a serious disease caused by unchecked proliferation of mast cells. Exon 17 mutations are also found in patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), a type of cancer with strong dependence on oncogenic KIT signaling. In addition to bezuclastinib, the Cogent Research Team is developing a portfolio of novel targeted therapies to help patients fighting serious, genetically driven diseases initially targeting mutations in FGFR2, ErbB2 and PI3Kα. Cogent Biosciences is based in Waltham, MA and Boulder, CO. Visit our website for more information at www.cogentbio.com. Follow Cogent Biosciences on social media: X (formerly known as Twitter) and LinkedIn. Information that may be important to investors will be routinely posted on our website and X.