Announcement • Jul 09
Aura Biosciences, Inc. Announces Appointment of Jeremy Bender as A Class II Director and Member of Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board, Effective July 7, 2026
Aura Biosciences, Inc. announced that on July 3, 2026, the Board of Directors of company increased the size of the Board from six to seven directors and unanimously appointed Jeremy Bender, Ph.D., M.B.A., as a Class II director, effective July 7, 2026 (the Effective Date"), to fill the newly created vacancy. Dr. Bender's term will expire at the Company's 2029 annual meeting of stockholders. Dr. Bender also has been appointed to the Compensation Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board, effective on the Effective Date. The Board has determined that Dr. Bender qualifies as an independent director and is qualified to serve under the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC") and the listing rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC. For his service on the Board, Dr. Bender is eligible to receive the same cash compensation as the Company's other non-employee directors in accordance with the Company's Amended and Restated Non-Employee Director Compensation Policy, which was amended and restated by the Board on June 11, 2026 . Consistent with the Policy, Dr. Bender has received an initial, one-time stock option award to purchase 60,000 shares of the Company's common stock, $0.00001 par value per share (Common Stock"), and an initial, one-time restricted stock unit award covering 30,000 shares of Common Stock. These initial awards will vest in equal annual installments over three years, and will generally stop vesting if Dr. Bender ceases to serve on the Board. Dr. Bender most recently served as Chief Executive Officer, President and a member of the board of directors of Day One Biopharmaceuticals, where he led the company through its evolution into a commercial-stage oncology company, including the approval and launch of OJEMDA for pediatric low-grade glioma and the company's approximately $2.5 billion acquisition by Servier in 2026. Prior to joining Day One, he served as Vice President of Corporate Development at Gilead Sciences. Earlier in his career, Dr. Bender held executive leadership positions at Tizona Therapeutics, Sutro Biopharma and Allos Therapeutics, where he led corporate strategy, business development and operational execution. He began his career in the life sciences practice at Boston Consulting Group. Dr. Bender currently serves as an independent member of the board of directors of Mereo BioPharma Group plc. He previously served on the board of directors of Fusion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Bender earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University, a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Colorado, and an M.B.A. from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
